At a time when the Mumbai police need an image makeover owing to the Sachin Waze episode, the Maharashtra government has once again sidelined 1986-batch IPS officer Sanjay Pandey. He has been given the charge of Maharashtra State Security Corporation (MSSC). Previous Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh has been made Pandey’s successor at the Home Guards department.

An IIT Kanpur alumni, Pandey, known for his honesty and grit, had arrested late BJP leader Gopinath Munde for opposing a demolition drive in Dharavi post the 1993 riots in Mumbai. As a deputy commissioner at the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Pandey had investigated the ‘cobbler scam’ and confronted Munde who was then the home minister. He was then transferred but he resigned in 2000. Later, he got a central deputation.