Mumbai ,March 25: In a major reshuffle in Maharashtra’s top police brass on Thursday, the state home department replaced anti-terrorism squad chief K.P. Raghuvanshi with Mr Rakesh Maria, currently Mumbai’s joint commissioner of police (crime). Mr Maria has also been promoted to additional director-general of police from his existing IGP rank.
Mr Raghuvanshi, a 1980-batch IPS officer who became ATS head for the second time in June last year, has been made ADGP (law and order). Mr Himanshu Roy, JCP (law and order), will become JCP (crime) in Mr Maria’s place.
“Mr Raghuvanshi has been relieved of the responsibilities of ATS chief. Now Mr Maria will take over as ATS head,” said Ms Chandra Iyengar, additional chief secretary (home). Mr Rajnish Seth, DIG (prisons), will be promoted to JCP (law and order). Mr Maria met state home minister R.R. Patil after Thursday’s transfers.
The Union home ministry had been extremely critical of Mr Raghuvanshi for having revealed “more than sufficient” information to the media after the arrest of two terror suspects on March 13, who the police claimed were plotting an attack on the ONGC headquarters and shopping centres in Mumbai. The disclosure resulted in the Central investigative team losing out on vital Pakistani link to the terror module, the ministry had claimed.
Mr Raghuvanshi had said the two arrested men were receiving directions from a Pakistani handler who they had referred to as Chacha (Uncle), after which the trail to the man, whose calls were being intercepted, went cold.
The Centre was reportedly also unhappy with the ATS probe into the February 13 Pune German Bakery blast, which had left 17 people dead, as no breakthrough had been made in the case.
The Maharashtra government had last week said it would discuss possible action against Mr Raghuvanshi. Though chief minister Ashok Chavan had said the state government had not received any directive to shift Mr Raghuvanshi, he admitted that the Centre was unhappy with the way certain information was given away to the media soon after the arrests.
Mr Raghuvanshi was appointed ATS chief in June last year. The 53-year-old IPS officer was the first to head the ATS when it was first formed in 2004.
Dippy Vankani
