Maharashtra’s former Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Rakesh Maria on Sunday took over as the new Mumbai Police Commissioner, in place of Satyapal Singh, who had resigned late last month from the police to join politics.
Describing his appointment as the Mumbai Police chief as “dream fulfilled” for a boy who grew up moving around the lanes and by-lanes of Bandra in north-west Mumbai in chappals, Maria said that he was committed to providing “public friendly, transparent and service-oriented policing” to Mumbaikars.
Taking to media persons after taking over the post, an emotional Maria said, “For a boy who grew up moving around the lanes and by-lanes of Bandra in chappals, becoming the Police Commissioner of Mumbai is a dream full-filled for any IPS officer like me is a “dream fulfilled” experience. As I step into the shoes of some excellent and top ranking IPS officers who occupied this post in the past, I seek their inspiration to carry out my responsibility....My main objective would be to provide “public friendly, transparent and service-oriented policing” to Mumbaikars”.
Fifty-seven-year-old Maria said urban terrorism, organised crime, security of women, senior citizens and minors were the major challenges of the city police. “At the same time, one thing we are going to stress on is zero tolerance towards street crimes,”he said.
Maria’s appointment to the Mumbai police chief’s post has indeed sparked a controversy. For, after keeping the city police chief’s post vacant for more than a fortnight –something unprecedented in the history of Mumbai police force, the Congress-led DF Government appointed
Maria to the post late on Saturday night, a move that has not well with two other senior IPS officers and serious contenders to the post — Additional Director General of Police (law and Order) Ahmed Javed and Additional Director of Police (Highway traffic) Vijay Kamble.
Hectic lobbying preceded Maria’s appointment to the post. While the Congress was rooting for appointment of either Javed or Kamble to the post, the NCP – which holds the State Home portfolio — was pushing Maria’s appointment to the post right from day-one. Ultimately, the NCP had its way in seeing Maria in the coveted post.
In the bargaining that took place between the Congress and NCP, Kamble and Javed – who fell by the wayside – were appointed as the Thane Police Commissioner and Director-General of the Maharashtra Home Guards, both of which are relatively low-profile posts.
A 1982 batch IPS officer, Maria is the only officer who has held all positions in the Crime Branch - Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection), Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) and Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) and also occupied various other positions in the city police force over the years.
Known for his excellent detection skills, Maria – as the then Deputy Commissioner (Crime), Maria had investigated the March 12, 1993 Mumbai serial blasts – the first terror attack on the country’s commercial capital. He had cracked the case within 24 hours of the serial bombings case and began effecting arrests of persons involved in it.
As an Additional Commissioner (crime), he subsequently led the investigations into the August 25, 2003 twin blasts at Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar and achieved a breakthrough in the case within 72 hours of the bombings with the arrest of terror suspects from a city slum.
As the city crime branch head, Maria brought off the arrests of nearly Indian Mujahideen operatives involved in the conspiracy behind several bomb blasts across the country since 2005 – including the ones in Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Varanasi and Gorkhpur
After the 26/11 attacks, Maria took over the investigations in the case. Apart from quickly unraveling the conspiracy behind the 26/11 attacks, he also interrogated the prime accused Mohammed Ajmal Kasab. He was appointed as the State ATS chief on March 25, 2010.