Mumbai: Intense speculation over who would take over the reigns from Sanjay Barve as Mumbai’s Police Commissioner was laid to rest on Saturday morning, with the Maha Vikas Aghadi government appointing Param Bir Singh to the coveted top job.
Taking charge from Barve at the city police headquarters at Crawford Market, Singh said that given the 'sensitive’ law and order situation in the country, maintaining law and order in the city would be among his top priorities.
Asked about the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, Singh said there was no ban on protests, as long as they are held within the rules and do not cause inconvenience to people.
“To protest is people's democratic right. As long as they are not breaking any rules or turning violent, it's their Constitutional right. As long as the protesters do not cause any inconvenience to people, we would not like to deter them from exercising their right. I appeal to the protesters that this right should be exercised Constitutionally, without breaking any law,” Singh said.
Before being appointed Mumbai Police chief, Singh, a 1988-batch IPS officer, was serving as Director General of the state Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB). The frontrunners he pipped to the post included Additional Director General Rajnish Sheth, Sadanand Date, who rejoined the Maharashtra Police on Wednesday from central deputation, DG (Technical) Hemant Nagrale, state intelligence department commissioner Rashmi Shukla, and state security corporation managing director D Kanakratnam.
In December last year, the ACB headed by Singh had given a clean chit to NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who is currently the state’s deputy chief minister, in connection with the alleged scam involving 12 Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) projects.
Singh added that ensuring women's safety and control over street crime would also be high on his priorities. “Women should feel safe and secure, day or night, in the city,” he said. He said attention would be paid on curbing chain snatching cases.
With Mumbai Police having recently arrested gangster Ejaz Lakdawala, Singh said that the Mumbai Police would continue to investigate the case professionally and would root out whatever little was left of the underworld in the city. He said the police would crack down on criminals who were trying to extort money in the name of criminals.
He assured that in the future, Mumbai Police would crack big cases, and that police deployment for maintenance of law and order would not have an adverse impact on investigation and detection of cases.
Singh was among the top contenders for the job since August 31, 2019, when Barve’s superannuation was due. However, Barve received three-month extensions at the post in August and in November last year.
On Friday, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh clarified that Barve would not be given another extension, clearing the decks for the appointment of a new police chief. In a video message posted on Twitter, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said, “Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Barve is retiring today. Singh has been named as his successor. This announcement has been made after discussion with the honourable chief minister.”
Soon after taking over as Mumbai CP, Singh has stayed the transfer orders of almost 30 officers who were transferred by the outgoing CP Barve a few days before his due retirement on February 29. On February 26, Barve had transferred four Assistant Police Commissioners (ACP) seven Senior Police Inspectors and 18 Police Inspectors. The last minute transfers came as a surprise to the city police force.
Singh is set to superannuate on June 30, 2022.
Meanwhile, the government has directed Bipin K Singh, the Additional Director General (ADG) of the ACB, to take additional charge as the DG of the anti-graft agency.