Mumbai top cop’s wings clipped

The police commissioner of Mumbai is no more on a par with the director general of the state police force (DGP). He will now report to the DGP, and not the additional chief secretary of the home department as it used to be.

Amendments made to the police hierarchy a few months ago, have also taken away from the Mumbai police commissioner the right to purchase arms and ammunition. Any purchase henceforth will have to be sanctioned by the DGP.

The decision to make the amendments in the police hierarchy was taken by the home department during the reign of RR Patil’s predecessor, Jayant Patil. “We wanted to do away with separate power centres within the police force, and to centralise the decision-making process,” a top home department official said.
“Few police ranges, particularly those in the coastal areas, might have some special requirements for arms and ammunition. But that does not mean we should let those commissionerates to purchase separate stocks. If we have to shift personnel or stocks of arms and ammunition, from one city to another, the uniformity would be of great help,” he added.