Nagpur: The city witnessed a special moment on Sunday as former Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) and ex-Nagpur Police Commissioner D. Sivanandhan returned to Nagpur to launch his latest book, ‘The Brahmastra Unleashed’. The event was presided over by current CP Dr. Ravinder Singal and attended by senior IPS officers and dignitaries.
Dispelling the glamour around Mumbai’s encounter era, the veteran officer declared that the real “Brahmastra” against the underworld was not the bullet but the law. “MCOCA, strategic convictions, and preventive detentions under MPDA were the real tools. Encounters and so-called encounter specialists are myths,” he asserted.
Gold Rate
10 Oct 2025
The book, which follows his bestselling Chanakya’s Seven Secrets of Leadership (over one lakh copies sold), is part memoir, part manual on policing. Drawing from three decades of service, Sivanandhan narrated gripping episodes, including one from his Nagpur posting, when he tracked down Dawood aide Rashid Shaikh, who was running an extortion-funded business on Katol Road. “We exposed his identity and dealt with him decisively,” he said, illustrating how intelligence and law worked hand in hand.
A believer in systemic change, Sivanandhan also highlighted his contribution to intelligence-building. “Intelligence is often broad, but sharpening personnel skills makes it actionable,” he noted, recalling how he set up two intelligence academies in Maharashtra, including the one at Suraburdi near Nagpur.
The evening also turned into a celebration of his legacy. CP Singal praised his principled policing that continues to inspire the force, while Joint CP Navinchandra Reddy revisited Sivanandhan’s early years in Gadchiroli, where he conducted peaceful elections in the late ’90s despite the Naxal shadow. IG Sandip Patil credited him with giving Nagpur a robust intelligence academy that still shapes young officers.
With The Brahmastra Unleashed, Sivanandhan offers not just a glimpse into his decorated career but also a blueprint for modern policing, one where intelligence, law, and strategy outweigh the lure of instant heroics.
