Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeEditorialWalking on the rope - Hemant Nagrale the new Mumbai Police Commissioner

Walking on the rope – Hemant Nagrale the new Mumbai Police Commissioner

Param Bir Singh moved to Home Guard but now sent on long vacation by Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh

- Advertisement -
IPS Hemant Nagrale PTI
Newly-appointed Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale addresses a press conference at Police Headquarters, in Mumbai, Wednesday, March 17, 2021. | Image Courtesy: PTI Photo

IPS Hemant Nagrale, who replaced Param Bir Singh as the police commissioner of Mumbai has lot of challenges ahead. Obviously, he needs to restore the lost glory of the Mumbai Police and earn people’s faith in the department. We need to understand that the police department is not government; they are part of the administration. They have to abide by the orders and instructions thrown at them by the people in power. Sometimes the repercussions are irreparable, and this is what happened in the case of Param Bir Singh.

The entire department’s integrity was at stake when an utmost biased and loudmouth TV anchor made various attacks on Mumbai Police, and state government because his masters could not make it to the power in spite of playing all foul. The opposition was licking its wounds by letting lose the rabble-rousers on his so-called prime time. The paid IT cell was laced with fake news and propaganda.

Also read: Param Bir Singh shunted out; IPS Hemant Nagrale to take charge as Mumbai Police chief

And the other so-called sold-out news channels created certain narratives and perceptions about the Mumbai Police which was really dangerous. Most surprisingly the keyboard samurai and Former CM’s wife, who enjoyed police security 24/7 at her bungalow, one fine morning tweeted that she is not feeling safe in Mumbai. When the same thing was uttered by Aamir Khan these right-wing trolls including present CM Uddhav Thackeray asked him to go to Pakistan. See Karma needs no address, he is facing the same fate. The CM and his son were accused of many nasty things by mouthpiece Media.

To counter these noises, the then CP Param Bir Singh and his officers were assigned to take on (BJP inclined) news anchors and TV channels, leaving all other core duties that the police were supposed to do. They were just directed in fulfilling the egos of the state government and its CM. Finally, in this dirty political mud shilling, many police officers’ solemnity was compromised. Isn’t it a tragedy that they were compared to Bihar police and not only that, they were also projected inferior to them?

The position of police officers got difficult during these times especially after BJP losing to power. Soon after that the spread of COVID-19 and the sudden announcement of lockdown, police were battling with law and order, bandobast keeping their own health at risk. With all these adversities, the Mumbai police which was considered as one of the best in the world after Scotland Yard paid for a political foul.

Also read: Sachin Vaze said, ‘I am a piece of Iceberg in this case’

During the lockdown, some mentally depressed actor committed suicide and his death became a national subject (keeping Bihar election in mind), for your kind information during that period of time many film actors and celebrities committed suicide by hanging themselves but there was no blare. Those deaths’ had no utility for BJP’s political vendettas. With one Sushant they wanted to shant (silence) the ruling alliance. CM’s Son, CP Mumbai, and the entire film industry were put on fire. The tragic saga was unstoppable. 

Now Hemant Nagrale took charge in the middle of tremendous exposure on a police officer’s arrest in a case linked to the Mukesh Ambani security scare. Param Bir Singh moved to Home Guard but now sent on long vacation by Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. If you think, Param Bir Singh’s exit will satisfy the thirst of opponents, then you are wrong.

By now BJP must be working on different strategies to trap the new CP, they are laced with their boot-licking media houses and troll army on social sites to scuff Nagrale. There would be more watchdogs, fake-news pedlars, WhatsApp groups, and much more for him. 

The Sachin Vaze investigation has become a huge embarrassment for the Maharashtra government and police departments. Regrettably, all talented police officers and equally corrupt, be it Ravindra Angry, Pradeep Sharma, Sunil More, Sachin Vaze, Pawar are Shiv Sena workers, and this is the reason they got cornered.

Also read: Can Sachin Vaze, destabilise Shiv Sena government?

It is their fault too, as they flaunted being there in the name of so-called political parties and connected with top brass leaders. What happened? They were used by their political masters for washing dirty linen, who is at stake? It’s the department.

Today Shiv Sena and BJP might be locking horns, but you never know what will happen tomorrow. They can shake hands for power, politics is the business of scoundrels. Politicians of India have no morality or ethics. In politics no one is an enemy or friend, it’s all about convenience. But the cops should know what their limits are, and how to guard themselves against getting sacrificed for political motives.

I wish Nagrale deals with these powerhouses smartly without getting bullied by them, a 1987-batch IPS officer, has handled cases such as the Ketan Parekh scam and the Harshad Mehta scam. Nagrale’s first posting was at Naxal-affected Chandrapur district as additional superintendent of police, Rajura during 1989-1992. During his tenure as deputy commissioner of police (1992-94), he successfully controlled post-Babri Masjid communal riots in Solapur.

Thereafter, as Superintendent of Police (SP), Ratnagiri (1994-1996), handled the land acquisition problem related to ENRON or Dabhol Power Corporation. As SP, criminal investigation department (CID) (crime) during 1996-1998, he investigated MPSC paper leak case, the infamous multiple children kidnapping, and murder cases involving Anjanabai Gavit and her daughters.

Nagrale then proceeded on deputation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in March 1998 and served till September 2002. Initially, he was posted as SP, BSFC, CBI, and Mumbai later as DIG, CBI at New Delhi.

For a brief period in 2014, Nagrale held an additional charge as commissioner of police. From May 2016 to July 2018, Nagrale was posted as commissioner of police, Navi Mumbai as part of which he handled the Maratha reservation agitation whose focal point was Navi Mumbai.

He was then promoted to DG rank in October 2018 and was entrusted with the responsibility of looking after the forensic science laboratories in the state. He is a very well-groomed and experienced police Officer; let’s see how he handles all the odds.

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
Vaidehi Taman
Vaidehi Tamanhttps://authorvaidehi.com
Vaidehi Taman an Accredited Journalist from Maharashtra is bestowed with three Honourary Doctorate in Journalism. Vaidehi has been an active journalist for the past 21 years, and is also the founding editor of an English daily tabloid – Afternoon Voice, a Marathi web portal – Mumbai Manoos, and The Democracy digital video news portal is her brain child. Vaidehi has three books in her name, "Sikhism vs Sickism", "Life Beyond Complications" and "Vedanti". She is an EC Council Certified Ethical Hacker, OSCP offensive securities, Certified Security Analyst and Licensed Penetration Tester that caters to her freelance jobs.
- Advertisement -

Latest

Must Read

- Advertisement -

Related News