Sources in the government said that some top politicians felt that Pandey deserved a better posting and thus he has been appointed as Mumbai police commissioner. SANJAY PANDEY, an IPS officer of the 1986 batch, on Monday became only the second police official in recent memory to be appointed as Mumbai City Commissioner after heading the state police as DGP.
Many in the force viewed the move, coming ahead of the BMC elections in April, as the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government opting for a more “action-oriented” Pandey under whose tenure there were FIRs against Param Bir Singh and arrest of Union Minister Narayan Rane than Nagrale who was seen as a comparatively “cautious” officer.
Pandey is an IIT-Kanpur graduate whose tenure in Dharavi post-1992 Bombay riots as DCP (zone VIII) won him admirers in civil society and the wrath of the Shiv Sena which felt that he was not even-handed with both the communities. The next big case which some believe landed Pandey in trouble was his investigation into the ‘Cobbler scam’ as the DCP (Economic Offences wing) in 1998. Pandey, who was investigating the case, was transferred to Jalna mid-stream. He later got Central deputation and was attached to the PM’s security unit.
Pandey even resigned from the force and joined the private sector. However, when the state government did not accept his resignation for a year, he joined back. Since then, he has been involved in litigation with the state government. At one point, he was kept on ‘compulsory waiting’ for over three years after which he again approached the courts. After winning a reprieve, he was given a posting.
The MVA gave him the first significant posting in years as the state DGP as the force was facing a crisis of credibility in the aftermath of the Antilia case.
During the past year when Pandey was the DGP and Nagrale the Mumbai Police Commissioner, five FIRs were registered against Param Bir Singh. While one FIR was with the Mumbai police, other cases were transferred to the CID that reports to Pandey.
A government official said, “The MVA government was happy with the performance of Pandey during his tenure as the DGP of the state. They saw him as decisive and action-oriented.”
The official added that the top political leadership was of the view that in light of the current political climate where Central agencies are going after MVA leaders and the impending BMC elections, Pandey at the head of the Mumbai Police would be in a better position to handle the issues likely to come up in the next few months.
“Since the Centre is at loggerheads with the state government, it is unlikely they will agree to give Pandey an extension if the state government seeks it. Hence, it is unlikely Pandey’s tenure will last more than four months after which he retires,” the official added.
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