Dhoble’s out; so where’s the party tonight?

Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Vasant Dhoble, infamous for his late-night raids at restaurants and for wielding a hockey stick at patrons at a juice centre, was transferred to the Vakola division of the Mumbai police on Sunday. He will have only two police stations under him. Senior officers said the reason for his transfer was the heightened security fears because of the upcoming Ganesh festival.

Prior to his transfer, Dhoble was ACP with the Social Service Branch since 2010. Here, he became the face of moral policing in the city. He invited the wrath of citizens by raiding upmarket restaurants and bars and targeting partygoers. Some citizens vented their ire against Dhoble by taking to the streets while a few filed cases with the Bombay high court.

Dhoble had the backing of former police commissioner Arup Patnaik. His luck ran out when Patnaik was replaced with Satyapal Singh recently.

“The transfer took place because of the festive season. I got the notice on Sunday morning and I will take charge at Vakola with immediate effect on Monday,” Dhoble told DNA. “The Ganpati festival is approaching and transfers have taken place keeping security issues in mind,” said Sadanand Date, joint commissioner (law & order) of the Mumbai police. “The new commissioner spoke to the home department and said Dhoble’s transfer should be permanent,” a source said.

Raju Joshi has been appointed assistant commissioner of police of the Social Service Branch. He was previously ACP of the Santa Cruz division. Dattatre Jadhav, who was previously posted at the Kalina police training centre, is the new ACP of Santa Cruz division.