Less than a week after Krishnapal Raghuvanshi was appointed Thane police commissioner, a 'temporary' replacement is sitting in his place
Less than a week after Krishnapal Raghuvanshi was appointed Thane police commissioner, a 'temporary' replacement is sitting in his place
On Saturday, Additional Director General of Police (Maharashtra) Arup Patnaik stepped into the office of Thane Police Commissioner as a replacement for Krishnapal Raghuvanshi, who had taken over the post on February 7, leading to immediate speculation whether the move was more than a temporary arrangement.
K Raghuvanshi (facing camera), who was appointed Thane Police
Commissioner last Monday has been replaced temporarily by Arup
Patnaik, Pics/ Sameer Markande
When asked if he had been transferred, Raghuvanshi rubbished the rumours, and said, "I will be back in two to three days since I am not feeling well." However, two events unfolded on Saturday, which fuelled the speculationu00a0-- Raghuvanshi, who was on sick leave for a week, after being diagnosed with malaria immediately after assuming office, extended his leave to a month, and all the illegal joints and businesses like matka, gambling and dance bars operating in Thane stayed shut.
What also prompted the rumours was the fact that Patnaik was brought in instead of Joint Commissioner Vinod Lokhande, who had served as temporary commissioner of police for Thane after SPS Yadav retired on January 31 and before Raghuvanshi was appointed to the post. The question doing the round was, 'Why wasn't he asked to fill in again?'
Patnaik is known to be a hard taskmaster who comes down heavily on wrong doers, and while Raghuvanshi is known to be a clean officer too, many believe he is soft in cracking down on illegal activities. Meanwhile, some leaders in the ruling coalition government were overheard bragging about being responsible for Raghuvanshi's 'transfer'.
An MLA who is famous among bookies as the 'blue eyed boy' claimed that he used his power to transfer the officer. He was overheard telling his supporters, "There was firing in Mumbra last night. I called Raghuvanhi several times, but he didn't take my call. So I got angry and I asked for his transfer."
Another explanation
However, some are putting down the transfer to another sort of politics. While Arup Patnaik, Dr Satyapal Singh and KP Raghuvanshi were strong contenders for the post of Thane commissioner, the former two are also being considered for the post of Mumbai police commissioner.
It is being alleged that the state sent Patnaik to Thane in order to clear the route for Dr Singh to take over as Mumbai police commissioner by the end of this month.
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