Maharashtra: Delay in filling DG posts leads to stalled promotions of subordinate police officers

Mumbai: Resentment is brewing in the top echelons of Maharashtra Police over the State Home Department’s failure to fill vacant posts of the Director General rank. As a result of the delay, the promotions of subordinate officers have been held up. 

The state has four DG rank posts that have been vacant for nearly eight to 12 months, with additional charge being given to ADG rank IPS officers. Senior IPS officers said there was no justification for the prolonged delay in filling up the posts.

The important post of DG Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has been vacant since February 2022 after its head Rajnish Sheth was posted as the state police chief following the posting of DGP Sanjay Pandey as the Mumbai Commissioner of Police. The DG ACB charge was given to ADGP Prabhat Kumar and later ADGP Niket Kaushik.

Similarly, the DG rank post of Managing Director of the Police Welfare and Housing is vacant after DG Vivek Phansalkar was appointed Mumbai Commissioner of Police in July 2022 and additional charge was given to ADGP Archana Tyagi.

DG rank MD Maharashtra State Security Corporation has been vacant after DG Hemant Nagrale retired in September 2022. The State Government created an independent post of Special Commissioner of Mumbai Police for ADGP Deven Bharati who was holding charge of Joint MD Maharashtra State Security Corporation, now held by ADGP Rajvardhan Sinha after promotion last month. “This all is very demoralising,” lamented an IPS officer awaiting senior posting.

DG Civil Defence was vacant after the incumbent Dr K Venkatesham retired in May 2022 and additional charge was given to ADGP Brijesh Singh.

The government promoted ADGP Sanjay Kumar and ADGP Pradnaya Sarvade last year and upgraded their current posts to DG Training and DG Railways, respectively, but didn’t fill the existing posts of DG ranks. The Thane police chief of the 1989 batch, ADGP Jaijeet Singh and Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad head ADGP Sadanand Date are next in line for promotion to DG rank.