Don’t shift IPS officers without Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray’s nod: Sharad Pawar

MUMBAI: A day after chief minister Uddhav Thackeray set aside transfer orders of 10 deputy commissioners of police issued by Mumbai police chief Parambir Singh without the CM’s knowledge, NCP president Sharad Pawar stepped in to pacify the agitated Thackeray. Pawar, accompanied by home minister Anil Deshmukh, went to Matoshree on Monday to explain to the CM the situation on the transfers of DCPs.
If a senior Shiv Sena cabinet member is to be believed, Pawar has asked the home minister Deshmukh to ensure that the CM is adequately briefed on postings and transfers of IPS officers, whether they are routine or out of turn.“Pawar told Deshmukh in the presence of the CM that it should not happen again,” the minister said.
Parambir Singh had on July 2 shifted 10 DCPs in Mumbai without the CM getting to know of it. When senior Sena leader and transport minister Anil Parab found that 10 DCPs had been quietly shifted, he brought it to the notice of the CM who swung into action and asked the home department to immediately cancel all the transfers. The CM’s contention was that it was wrong to shift such a large number of DCPs without his knowledge. Significantly, it was found that Parambir Singh had briefed Anil Deshmukh on the proposed transfers, but the home minister had not informed the CM.
According to reports, during the meeting with the CM in the presence of Sharad Pawar, Deshmukh defended his decision saying that it was well within the powers of the Mumbai police commissioner to effect transfers of officers and that there was no need to bring the matter to the notice of the CM. The Sena has taken the view that it is not a question of the rulebook but of convention, which suggests that internal transfers be brought to the CM’s notice.