Nagpur: As the State Home Department in Maharashtra is gearing up for a significant reshuffle of its top police brass, including the Police Commissioner of Nagpur, names of Sanjay Saxena, Anup Kumar Singh and Madhukar Pande are in the forefront of the race. The second option could be Amitab Gupta, Ravindra Singhal and Sunil Ramanand for the post of Top Cop, according to a media report.
Notably, the Police Commissioner of Nagpur, Amitesh Kumar, has completed his tenure and is due for transfer. The State Home Department is yet to finalise their replacements. Competition for the position of Thane CP is particularly fierce, the report said.
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Saturday 05 Oct. 2024
According to the report, the impending retirement of the current DGP Rajnish Seth, on December 31, has prompted the Department to commence the process of selecting his successor. Several prominent names have emerged as contenders for the esteemed position of State DGP. The frontrunner is Senior IPS Officer Rashmi Shukla, who currently serves as the Director General (DG) of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar is also a strong candidate for the role. Other notable contenders include Thane CP Jaijeet Singh, DG ATS Sadanand Date, DG Police Housing Sandeep Bishnoi, DG Railway Pradnya Sarvade, Additional Director of NIA Atulchandra Kulkarni, and DG State Security Corporation Bipin Kumar Singh, the report said.
The State Home Department would forward the names of potential candidates for the DGP post to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which would then shortlist three officers in accordance with established norms. From this shortlist, Maharashtra Government will choose the next DGP.
The report further said that Rashmi Shukla’s name had gained prominence as a leading contender for the position of DGP, particularly after the Special Court accepted the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) closure report related to the disclosure of a confidential report on police transfers in Maharashtra. Shukla, a 1988- batch IPS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, holds seniority over both the current DGP, Rajnish Seth, and the other contenders. If appointed as the DGP, Shukla, whose current retirement date is June 2024, could serve an extended two-year term, effectively pushing back her retirement, the report added.
In the event that Vivek Phansalkar is appointed as DGP, it is expected to trigger a chain of leadership changes. This would likely lead to the appointment of the current Special Commissioner, Deven Bharti, as the Commissioner of Police (CP) for Mumbai or other officers, the report claimed.
