Rakesh Maria a right choice for the coveted post

Finally, after a lot of speculation and hue and cry, Rakesh Maria has been appointed as the new Police Commissioner of Mumbai. I appreciate the state government’s decision to appoint Maria for the top job. Rakesh Maria was one of the deserving candidates among the list of the probable candidates for the coveted post. Rakesh Maria had served as the Chief of Anti Terrorist Squad so he is aware about the crime incidents occurring in the metropolis.
Rakesh Maria, who belongs to the 1981 batch of the Indian Police Service, cracked the twin blasts of Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazar in 2003. Maria also played a key role in arresting most of the accused responsible for the 1993 serial blasts. He probed the German Bakery blast case, the 2011 serial blasts and the Jangali Maharaj Road blast case.
Before Maria’s appointment as the new CP there were reports about the government trying to derive political mileage out of this issue by proposing the name of Vijay Kamble a Dalit officer to woo the Dalit community. Even Javed Ahmed’s name was been discussed. Congress wanted Vijay Kamble and Javed Ahmed to become the new police commissioner while Rakesh Maria was NCP’s choice. Thus one say that Congress had to bow down before its ruling partner NCP by appointing Maria as the new Police Commissioner.
Congress has played its cards well by appointing Maria for the top job and also pleased Vijay Kamble and Javed Ahmed by promoting them. Kamble has been appointed as the new police commissioner of Thane while Javed Ahmed has been promoted to Director General of Police. If Congress had appointed Vijay Kamble as the new CP then it would have given an opportunity for the BJP to criticise the party for indulging in vote bank politics.
Maria’s selection is bound to raise eyebrows, as the Police Establishment Board had recommended the names of three candidates (Kamble, Mathur and Maria) based on seniority, and Maria was the junior-most in that list. Although junior among the three contenders, Maria’s excellent record in crime detection and his knowledge of Mumbai and its underbelly stood him in good stead.
On Saturday, night a meeting was held between Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Home Minister R.R. Patil for discussing about the name of the candidate for the police commissioner’s job. Finally, Maria’s name was finalised for the top job which was lying vacant since Former Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh resigned and joined the Bhartiya Janta Party.
Finally, the government took the right decision by appointing Rakesh Maria as the new Police Commissioner because he is a deserving candidate and also is aware about the city’s crime activities. Through his vast experience Maria can play a vital role in curbing crimes in the city. I wish Rakesh Maria all success in his future endeavour.