The State Home Department in Maharashtra is gearing up for a significant overhaul of its top police leadership, including the position of Director General of Police (DGP) and Police Commissioners of Nagpur and Thane. The impending retirement of the current DGP, Rajnish Seth, on December 31 has prompted the department to commence the process of selecting his successor.A top rank official said that several prominent names have emerged as contenders for the esteemed position of State DGP. The frontrunner is Senior IPS Officer Rashmi Shukla, who currently serves as the Director General (DG) of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar is also a strong candidate for the role. Other notable contenders include Thane CP Jaijeet Singh, DG ATS Sadanand Date, DG Police Housing Sandeep Bishnoi, DG Railway Pradnya Sarvade, Additional Director of NIA Atulchandra Kulkarni, and DG State Security Corporation Bipin Kumar Singh, he said. He further stated that the State Home
In the backdrop of twin drone-driven blasts on the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) technical airport in Jammu and Kashmir on June 27, Nagpur police have geared up to secure vital installations from drone attacks. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) Headquarters in Mahal and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Sonegaon will be declared as no drone zones soon as the police have initiated the process for the same.
RSS headquarters was on the target of the terrorists for a long time. Three terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba were gunned down by police personnel when they tried to sneak into the Sangh headquarters on June 1, 2006. Since then, a large number of armed police personnel have been deployed for security of the headquarters. Similarly, the police are also serious about new information that Naxals are using small drones for surveillance of security forces near the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh borders.
Sources informed that the Union Home Ministry had sounded an alert to all States and Union Territories to take review of security arrangements of vital installations in the backdrop of the drone-driven blast on IAF’s airport. Following the instructions, the city police is taking a review of security arrangements and a detailed report of declaring vital installations as no drone zone is being prepared, sources informed.
The report is likely to get the sanction of the Commissioner of Police in the annual security audit meeting of Vital Installations Security Audit Committee. The committee consists of members of Intelligence Bureau (IB), Zonal DCP, DCP SB, Police Station in-charge of the concerned area and CP as Chairman of the committee.
It may be mentioned here that Nagpur has 60 vital installations. Of them, 17 are ‘A’ grade vital installations that include RSS headquarters, RBI, Airport, High Court and Military Establishments.
After declaring a particular vital installation as no drone zone, flying of aerial platforms in two kilometres radius over the prohibited vital installations will invite strict legal action, informed sources.
A police officer informed that the Union Home Minister has recently issued standard operating procedures (SOP) regarding flying drones. The Union government has given powers to local police to book a person under 121 and 121 (A) and other Sections of Indian Penal Code. Similarly, the government has given a job to IAF for immediate reaction to aerial attack. As per the SOP, flying aerial objects will be destroyed or seized by police if found flying in restricted zones.
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