Amid much bickering, Param Bir Singh selected as Mumbai's top cop

A frontrunner for the top job Param Bir Singh was appointed the Mumbai police commissioner a couple of hours after outgoing CP Sanjay Barve received a ceremonial farewell on SaturdaySources said the selection was preceded by a political bickering and consultations between Maha Vikas Aghadi partners the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena in particular Home minister Anil Deshmukh had forwarded Singhs name to the CMO on Friday night before taking a flight to Nagpur His proposal received Uddhav Thackerays nod early on Saturday only after deliberating with the NCP boss Sharad Pawar and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar who impressed upon Thackeray that ACB director general Singh would be a better choice for the coveted post It is learnt that additional director generals Rajnish Seth and Sadanand Date were also shortlisted for the top jobSinghs appointment saw unprecedented anxiety and curiosity because of a frictionprone threeparty MVA government Each partner wants a say in the appointment of bureaucrats and police officers of all ranks And Mumbai being a highstake playground always finds a stiff tussle between the officers and their political mentors Sources said Singh not only raced past other contenders but also surprised his adversaries in the MVAMumbai police commissioner Sanjay Barves farewell parade at Naigaon Police Headquarters PicPradeep DhivarSingh a 1988 Indian Police Service IPS batch officer was in the race for the post even when Barve was given the charge last year Singh has served as Thane commissioner and additional director general law and order He had a stint in the antiterrorism unit and worked with Mumbai Police at the zonal and divisional levels His last assignment was as director general of states AntiCorruption BureauMany IPS officers and politicians linked Singhs appointment to his ACB stint in which he played a significant role in giving DCM Ajit Pawar a clean chit in a multithousandcrore irrigation scam Singhs recent meeting with NCP president Sharad Pawar was widely reported in the media and said to be a precurser to his elevation Interestingly Barves elevation was also linked with the same case in the BJPSena regime He had made a case stronger against the former water resources minister Ajit Pawar and given an affidavit to this effect The same affidavit was dismissed by Singh before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court late last year It started while the Devendra FadnavisAjit Pawar government lasted a mere 80 hours and the MVA took it forward after Ajit returned to the NCP which made the MVA with the Sena and CongressThis time around except for former city CP and head of the state police Subodh Kumar Jaiswal all other DGs and several senior ADGs were lobbying hard for the post the IPS officers want once in their career There are officers who wouldnt mind if they are not considered for heading the State force but would go all out to get the Mumbai chiefs post that brings more clout than other uniformed servicesSources said the NCP bosses wanted Singh anyhow but the Shiv Sena and Congress had some reservations over the nomination ADG Date of IPS1990 batch was said to be the Senas choice Keeping the preference in the mind Date was also repatriated to the state cadre two weeks ago Date is one of the 2611 heroes and held city jointCP law and order office very successfully before moving out to the Central Reserve Police Force and then as jointsecretary in the Union Government Seth was suggested as a compromise candidate but the NCP seemed to have prevailed said a leader in the know of the matterBut Date hasnt lost everything yet He has six years of service left and would be in the reckoning for the top post Sources said he was likely to head the force in any of the three citiesmdashThane Pune and Nagpur Seth a year younger to Singh may get an opportunity after Singh retires in June 2022 Among other aspirants were Singhs batchmates intelligence commissioner Rashmi Shukla and Pune commissioner K Venkatesham but they could not make the cut because their supervision of the Elgar Parishad probe was disputed by none other than Sharad Pawar Shukla has clarified that she was on a long leave when the probe started but to no avail Venkatesham had petitioned the CM to explain his case He will retire a month before SinghSome DGs also hoped against hope Second in the state seniority after Jaiswal Sanjay Pande IPS1986 has again been ignored With 30 months of service at hand Hemant Nagrale IPS1987 did not find favour while D Kanakrathnam IPS1987 who will retire in December this year will have to serve the current assignmentCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates