MUMBAI: In a surprising move, the state government on Monday appointed senior IPS officer Sanjay Pandey as Mumbai’s new police commissioner just days after he was shunted out as the state’s acting director general of police.
The 1986 batch officer, who is a computer engineer from IIT Kanpur, has had a tumultuous career over the past three decades, having frequently upset politicians and ministers across parties. His appointment to this prestigious post at a time when he has barely three months to retire came as a surprise in police and bureaucratic circles.
It was only last month that he was removed as acting state DG and given a side-posting as managing director of the Maharashtra State Security Corporation after a PIL was filed in the Bombay high court challenging his appointment as state DG.
The PIL said he was not in the panel of three officers cleared by the UPSC. The petitioner urged the court to have a permanent DG as Pandey was holding additional charge of the state police. The court had observed that he was a blue-eyed boy of the government and that he should never be considered for the post of DGP.
