Ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls, the Election Commission has directed the state government to transfer DGP Rashmi Shukla with immediate effect following complaints from political parties, including the Congress, sources said.
The poll body directed the Maharashtra chief secretary to hand over Shukla's charge to the next senior-most IPS officer in the cadre. The chief secretary was also directed to send a panel of three IPS officers by Tuesday afternoon for appointment as DGP, the sources said. Maharashtra goes to polls on November 20.
Who is IPS Rashmi Shukla?
She is an IPS officer from the 1988 batch and the first woman to serve as the Maharashtra police chief from January 2024 to November 4, 2024. IPS Rashmi was accused of tapping Opposition leaders’ phones during Devendra Fadnavis' tenure as Chief Minister. In 2019, the previous state Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government sidelined several officials perceived as close to the previous Fadnavis-led administration, including Shukla. Shukla was also shifted from the SID (State Intelligence Department) to Civil Defence.
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Before joining Maharashtra DGP, she served as Additional Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and then as Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) of India. Shukla was due to retire in June 2024 but continued to serve as her appointment as DGP meant she would be in charge till January 2026.
(With inputs from PTI)
