MUMBAI: Within hours of a two-member Bombay High Court bench slamming the state government and passing strictures on Thursday evening, an embarrassed government went on the back foot and appointed Additional Director General (Railways) K.P. Raghuvanshi as the new Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief after the killing of ATS chief Hemant Karkare seven months ago in the Mumbai terror attacks.
The state Home Minister Jayant Patil, in post-haste also announced the appointment of Jayant Umranikar to the newly created post of Director General of Police (Anti-Naxalite Special Operations). Prior to the promotion to the DGP rank, Umranikar was the additional director general (training). During his visit to Pune last week, Patil had told the media that there would be promotions and postings of senior IPS officers this week.
Irritated over the dilly-dallying of the Maharashtra government in the appointment of a new ATS chief, a bench of the Bombay High Court consisting Chief Justice Swatantar Kumar and Justice Satyaranjan Dharmadikari on Thursday passed strictures and pulled up the state government.
Earlier, the Bombay High Court while passing strong strictures in its order said that even after seven months of the Mumbai terror attacks the state government has not taken any interest to fill the vacant post of the ATS chief. Taking the government to task, the court ordered the government to appoint a new ATS chief within four weeks, without offering any excuses.
Taking serious cognizance of an Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a citizen V.P. Patil on the government keeping the ATS chief post vacant for several months, the court, coming down heavily on the government, expressed its anger and anguish stating that the government had set up a State Security Council (SCC) after the terror attacks to look into security aspects in the State. The SSC held two meetings, but it is not clear or known as to what specific decisions were taken at these meetings.
The state additional chief secretary (home) was clueless and was found fumbling for answer when the judges asked him whether modern guns and bulletproof jackets were provided to the policemen after the Mumbai terror attacks. Issuing a stern warning, the judges told the government not to play with the security of the citizens and ordered the state additional chief secretary (home) to file an affidavit in this respect.
