New Delhi (02.01.2021): Open-source intelligence (OSINT) reports indicate that even before the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government prepares a list of IPS officers for consideration of the UPSC and subsequent selection of an officer for the critical and much-aspired post of state DGP, it has veered round to the view, triggered and sustained by its own trail of visible unending indulgences and those of its constituent groups, to promote Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh (IPS:1988:MH) or Hemant Nagrale (IPS:1987:MH) to the post.

Singh, known as a good team leader because of his honorable and laudable consideration for junior fellows from the constabularies wherever he worked, is seen as the best political choice in the given situation. Why the best political choice? Because his appointment may signal the continuation of the state government's pugnacious or robust (whatever pleases you) stand against the central government without taking the political conflict to a breaking point because of Singh's direct relationship through his daughter-in-law with the powerful Meghe family of Nagpur, which, though in the BJP camp now, also has deep connections with top leaders of the MVA because of the family's past affiliations with the Congress Party as well as the NCP.

But these very points in favor of the Mumbai Police Commissioner may go against him in case the new 'Matoshri' of Shiv Sena gets frightened and reaches the conclusion that Param Bir may be, or may become in due course, too much for her to handle. In that situation, the balance of convenience may shift in favor of Marathi Manush, DG Hemant Nagrale. He is not considered a 'difficult' officer and has consistently grown in his career despite his name being dragged in a few cases of wilful neglect' or missteps in the discharge of duties.

Slim is the chances, therefore, for the 1986 batch and seniormost officer Sanjay Pandey who is currently DG (Home Guards). All his innate and cultivated qualities of fair play and high efficiency, in the eyes of the MVA political dispensation, make him a 'Bidrohi' as narrated by the great Indo-Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam in his eponymous poem on Maharshi Bhrigu. For the same reasons, despite pleasant, cooperative, and accommodative (to a point) nature, the 1988 batch officer DG Rashmi Shukla (Civil Defence) is considered out of the reckoning.

Another 1988 batch officer DG Rajnish Seth is also excluded from consideration because of his alleged lack of qualities to deal with difficult situations. For instance, it is said that as Joint Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) of Mumbai Police, he allegedly mishandled the large scale Muslim violence at Azad Maidan on August 11, 2012 (epitomized in the photograph that showed two Muslim boys hammering and kicking the Amar Jawan memorial), causing physical injuries to more than 50 cops and death of a couple of people. Many examples like this one are cited to explain his possible exclusion from the race. 

Since the lack of decision-making ability on the part of a senior officer is seen as a great virtue in the political establishment, Seth's exclusion may be explained away by recourse to semantic juggleries to show the MVA administration's great commitment to an even-handed approach to selecting the officer for DGP post. In fact, the alleged lack of decision-making ability of Seth has already earned him the most virtuous job as DG of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Is there any surprise? 

Two more senior officers from the 1987 batch - Bipin Bihari and Surendra Pandey who are serving as DGs of Police Housing Corporation and Prisons - may not be considered even by the UPSC because they are retiring in January and February 2021 respectively. The DGP post, under the SC guidelines, is open only to officers who have at least two years to retirement.

In the fraught political situation of the state where different constituents are seen pulling in different directions, the state DGP post is a crown of thorns. That's the reason Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, who is considered a rule-bound officer, voluntarily opted out of the post aspired by all IPS officers. He sought, and happily granted, central deputation as the new chief of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Although he is said to have been feeling out of breath in coping with the unique style of functioning of the MVA government that has been bypassing his authority in all critical matters relating to the image and efficiency of the state police force, his heightening exasperation exploded in September 2020 when the MVA government transferred, promoted, and posted as many as 50 officers without any regard to his advice.

(By MK Shukla & Rakesh Ranjan)