In a widely expected move following criticism about police inaction during the violence at Azad Maidan on August 11, Patnaik made way for Satyapal Singh, 56, as Mumbai’s police commissioner.
In a widely expected move following criticism about police inaction during the violence at Azad Maidan on August 11, Arup Patnaik on Thursday made way for Satyapal Singh, 56, as Mumbai’s police commissioner. DNA on Thursday reported that Singh was likely to replace Patnaik.
Singh, who was additional director general of police, state law and order, acknowledged he has a challenge on hand.
“People’s confidence in the police has shaken, but I will try my best to restore that confidence,” he said on Thursday. Singh is not new to responsibility. An IPS officer from the batch of 1980, he was earlier Pune commissioner of police and was posted as joint commissioner of police (crime) in Mumbai in 2003.
Patnaik has been kicked upstairs. He was promoted as director general of police and posted as managing director of Maharashtra State Security Corporation.
Though he was widely criticised for police ‘inaction’ during the handling of the Azad Maidan violence, many senior security experts, including top cop Julio Riberio, commended him for exercising restraint in a volatile situation, arguing that this probably saved Mumbai from a repeat of the 1992-1993 riots.
On Tuesday, the Raj Thackeray-led MNS organised a massive rally from Girgaum Chowpatty to Azad Maidan demanding that Patnaik be replaced.
Patnaik’s transfer has exposed the differences between the ruling Congress and NCP with some members of the NCP wondering why the Congress gave the MNS political mileage by transferring Patnaik so soon after the MNS rally.
However, a source from the CM’s office said: “At the moment, Chavan is not worried about political ramifications. What matters the most is to keep the morale of the police force high.”
Home minister RR Patil sent a proposal to Chavan seeking Patnaik’s transfer on August 12, a day after the violence. Home ministry sources said Chavan kept the proposal on hold as he did not want to take a hasty decision while the probe was on. He gave his consent only after it became clear that if Patnaik continued as police commissioner, it could polarise the force.
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