In a fresh reshuffle within the Maharashtra police force, the state government has revised the transfer postings of several senior officers and reassigned many of them to Thane, a region considered politically significant due to its association with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The revised order came just days after the government transferred 52 police officials across the state on May 15. A second notification issued on May 21 cancelled or modified the postings of 16 officers, leading to discussions within the police department over the sudden changes.
Panjabrao Ugale Retained in Thane With New Responsibility
One of the major changes involved senior IPS officer Panjabrao Ugale, who was serving as Additional Commissioner (Crime) in Thane. In the earlier transfer order, he had been promoted and shifted as Special Inspector General in the Housing and Welfare Department at the Director General’s office.
However, the government later withdrew that posting and retained Ugale in Thane by appointing him as Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), a newly created position in the Thane Commissionerate.
With the creation of this new role, the commissionerate will now have separate Joint Commissioners handling crime and law-and-order responsibilities. Senior IPS officer Dr. Dnyaneshwar Chavan will continue as Joint CP (Law and Order).
Several Officers With Earlier Thane Postings Return
The revised transfer list also brought back a number of officers who had previously served in Thane.
Balasaheb Patil, who was earlier posted as Superintendent of Police, Nashik Rural, had initially been transferred to Mumbai. The government later cancelled that posting and appointed him as Deputy Commissioner of Police in the Thane Commissionerate. Patil had earlier handled several important assignments in Thane, including DCP (Traffic) and zonal DCP roles.
Similarly, Vinaykumar Rathod, previously SP of Sambhajinagar Rural, has now been posted as SP, Thane Rural. Rathod too had served in multiple positions in the Thane police setup earlier.
Other officers returning to Thane include Shivaji Rathod, currently Additional Commissioner of Police, Nagpur, and Ashok Dudhe, Deputy Inspector General of the State Reserve Police Force. Both had earlier worked as DCPs in the Thane Commissionerate.
Questions Raised Over Revoked Postings
The revised transfer order has also drawn attention because the postings of officers Nityanand Jha and Kumar Chintha were cancelled without any new assignments being mentioned.
Jha had earlier been posted to Yavatmal, while Chintha was transferred to Nagpur in the first list issued on May 15.
The sudden revisions and return of multiple officers to Thane have sparked fresh discussions within administrative circles over the government’s reshuffle strategy and the importance being attached to the Thane police establishment.
