Night life, Sheena Bora case, LaMo: Factors that cost Rakesh Maria the Mumbai top cop's post

Mumbai: While his involvement in the Sheena Bora murder case investigation may have been the final straw, multiple factors are said to have contributed to the abrupt transfer of Rakesh Maria from the post of Mumbai police commissioner. Maria was transferred to the post of Director General (Home Guards) on Tuesday. While the Maharashtra government has said that the changes have been made considering the law and order situation ahead of the upcoming festival season in the state,  there are many theories for the sudden transfer. Many in police force believe Maria’s transfer is a result of the role he played in the investigations in the Sheena Bora murder case. [caption id=“attachment_2426692” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Rakesh Maria. PTI image[/caption] “His transfer is as mysterious as the Sheena Bora murder case. But, it appears that the investigation into the case over last few weeks might be one of the reasons that could have played a role in the transfer,” a senior police officer said. The official said that the posting given to Maria is normally given as a punishment posting. Maria has been replaced as Mumbai Police commissioner by senior IPS officer Javed Ahmed, who took charge on Tuesday. While the post of Mumbai police commissioner is to be held by an official of Additional Director General rank, the state government has upgraded the post so that an official of Director General rank can hold the post. Thi was done in order to clear the path for Ahmed’s appointment and the senior police official will get around five months in office before he retires in January 2016. Sources in state secretariat, Mantralaya, said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was unhappy with what he believed was Maria’s excessive involvement in the investigation into the Sheena Bora murder. A few days ago, Fadnavis had said that police should pay as much attention to other cases that are not in the media glare. Officials said that Maria was to be transferred after the controversy over his meeting with former IPL chief Lalit Modi in London erupted earlier this year. However, the BJP was in a fix, because they believed that if they had taken action against Maria there might have been calls to take similar steps against External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje over their links with the former IPL chairman. The BJP having decided to back Swaraj and Raje, decided not to take any action against Maria as well, a government official said. Another senior government official said Maria was due for promotion and the police officer had requested for a side posting. Hence has been given a posting as Director General of home guards, the official said. However, Maria hasn’t been on the best terms with the chief minister. It began in February this year,  when Maria cleared a proposal moved by the Shiv Sena seeking to allow eateries, pubs, bars and restaurants to remain open all night. Maria cleared the proposal, allegedly without consulting Fadnavis. Maria has also been perceived to be close to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and that was also a factor that went against him once the BJP government came to power in the state. “The sudden action of the government has proved that Sheena Bora murder case is surely more than a murder case. The so-called promotion of Maria is done under some sort of pressure,” said Nawab Malik, national spokesperson of NCP. Anther theory doing the rounds is that Ahmed has been brought in place of Maria in an attempt to contain any ill will the Muslim community may have against the Fadnavis government. Muslims in the state have been unhappy with the state government’s decision to ban the beef in Maharashtra. Many in the community are also perceived to be unhappy over the hanging of 1993 serial blasts convict, Yakub Menon. While Maria has remained mum on the transfer, Javed, after taking charge on Tuesday, said the Sheena Bora murder case will be monitored in a professional manner and that there is scope for improvement.