Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has finally admitted that Rakesh Maria was transferred from the post of Mumbai police commissioner for showing over-enthusiasm in Sheena Bora murder case. Mr Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, said that the police commissioner’s job is to supervise cases and everything would have been fine if he had not gone to the Khar police station to grill Indrani Mukerjea, the prime accused in the case, who was lodged there.
“It is the job of the investigation officer to investigate. The job of the commissioner of police is to supervise rather than personally investigate the case,” Mr Fadnavis said while reacting to a question on the abrupt transfer of Mr Maria from the post of Mumbai CP.
The chief minister further stressed, “It would have been fine if he (Maria) would not have gone there (Khar police station where Indrani Mukerjea and other accused were being grilled) so many times.”
Mr Maria was transferred as director general (home guards), a “not so important” post, just 22 days before the end of his tenure with immediate effect on September 8 this year.
It had been then reported that the chief minister was upset with Mr Maria for the “over-enthusiasm” showed by the latter while investigating the Sheena Bora murder case as despite being the city CP, he had shown interest in personally interrogating the accused. Mr Maria had started visiting the Khar police station on a daily basis to interrogate Mukerjea.
The sources in the government had then confirmed that CM was upset with Mr Maria over the “over-enthusiasm” in the Sheena Bora case. Mr Fadnavis was already unhappy with Mr Maria over his meeting with ex-IPL commissioner Lalit Modi in London last year and thus had sought clarification from him twice.
