PP Shrivasta, additional director general of police for law and order, was posted in place of Gafoor as the new state director general of police (housing).
SS Dayal, additonal director general of police, who was on the waiting list, was appointed as head of anti-naxalite operations, in place of UM Umranikar who had retired.
The post of DGP (Anti-Corruption Bureau) was vacant after Anami Narayan Roy was promoted as the Maharashtra director general of police in October 2009, after the retirement of SS Virk.
Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, speaking to Arab News on condition that they not be named, said Gafoor was tipped to take over as the State DGP from Virk, but was pushed down because of his alleged lackadaisical attitude during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.
A controversial statement he gave to an English news weekly, in which he had alleged that four senior IPS officers neglected their duties out of fear during the terror attacks, also allegedly did not put him in good stead with other officials.
The government then had instituted an inquiry by the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Chandra Iyengar, which said that the allegations leveled by Gafoor against the four officers were baseless. Gafoor later denied making any allegations against his colleagues and said that he was misquoted.
In another development, the Maharashtra government was reported to have instructed the Mumbai police to recruit Muslims in the force so as to narrow the gap between the Hindus and Muslims.
A senior police official confirmed the report. He said that the ratio of the Muslims in the Mumbai police force as well in the rest of the state can be described as very low in comparison to the Hindus.
