Mumbai: Becoming a member of the likes of former Mumbai high cops Satya Pal Singh and Arup Patnaik who jumped into electoral politics after retirement, former Mumbai Police chief Sanjay Pandey, who’s eager on contesting the upcoming meeting polls, has joined the Congress.
The Bombay Excessive Courtroom had as soon as known as Pandey the “blue-eyed officer” of the earlier Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) authorities, when he was the appearing Maharashtra DGP, a lot earlier than the Uddhav Thackeray-led administration put him on the helm of the Mumbai Police.
The MVA includes the Congress, Nationalist Congress Celebration (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
When the MVA was in energy, Pandey was additionally seen as one of many pawns seemingly taking part in for the state within the proxy struggle that had damaged out between the state authorities and the Narendra Modi-led Union authorities by means of their investigative businesses.
In July 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Pandey in reference to its probe into the alleged tapping of telephones of Nationwide Inventory Alternate (NSE) workers. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which had booked the retired IPS officer in reference to its probe, arrested him in September that yr. The Delhi Excessive Courtroom granted him bail in December, after he had spent almost 5 months behind bars.
Pandey joined the Congress Thursday within the presence of Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad.
Talking on the event, Pandey mentioned, “I’ve been wanting to affix the Congress since 2004. It’s not that I didn’t get alternatives, however the timing was maybe proper solely now. Whereas coming right here I informed folks I’m becoming a member of my household. I’ve a secular ideology and there’s no occasion apart from Congress that matches that.”
He added, “At present, businesses similar to ED and CBI are getting used (towards political rivals). As a retired police commissioner, I’ve skilled each these businesses. I might solely wish to say one factor to all residents. There’s no should be scared. Use nevertheless many businesses you want, we’re standing right here with the reality.”
Requested if the occasion is contemplating his candidature for the meeting polls, Congress chief Sachin Sawant informed ThePrint, “The excessive command will take a name on candidates for the state meeting polls, however Sanjay Pandey shall be a robust north Indian face of the occasion in Mumbai and Congress will use his functionality for the election accordingly. He has all the time been generally known as an sincere officer and was focused with allegations solely due to his impartiality.”
Alternatively, Bharatiya Janata Celebration’s (BJP) Pravin Darekar mentioned Pandey’s induction within the Congress is probably the MVA’s means of rewarding the previous cop for serving the alliance when it was in energy. “When Sanjay Pandey was (Mumbai Police) commissioner, he was working for CM Uddhav Thackeray by harassing BJP leaders, registering offences towards them and arresting them,” Darekar informed reporters.
In July, Pandey, a retired IPS officer from the 1986 batch, had introduced his intention to contest the meeting polls from Mumbai’s Versova constituency the place he lives. He had mentioned he isn’t actively in search of out any political occasion and plans to contest as an Impartial.
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‘Blue-eyed officer’ of the MVA
The Thackeray-led MVA authorities appointed Sanjay Pandey as Mumbai Police commissioner in February 2022, days after his stint because the state’s appearing DGP ended on a controversial be aware.
The state didn’t have a full time DGP and Pandey was holding extra cost regardless of his title not being among the many three beneficial for the submit by the UPSC panel, as is the norm for such appointments.
An advocate, Datta Shrirang Mane, filed a petition within the Bombay Excessive Courtroom questioning the inordinate delay in appointing a full-time DGP. That is when the courtroom slammed the Thackeray-led authorities for favouring Pandey, calling him the “blue-eyed officer” of the MVA authorities.
The MVA authorities then appointed Rajnish Seth, one of many three officers within the UPSC panel’s suggestions, because the Maharashtra DGP, in October 2023. Seth was about two years junior to Pandey.
After being relieved as appearing DGP in February 2022, Pandey had in a Fb submit mentioned an officer is used to being on the receiving finish of bouquets and brickbats, “all with the identical equanimity”.
“The one irony in current juncture is that in current instances, the system did work to undo a number of the injustice carried out to my profession file up to now,” Pandey mentioned in his submit.
Whereas he was appearing DGP, Pandey was instrumental in submitting a number of FIRs towards former Mumbai high cop Param Bir Singh, who had levelled draft allegations towards Anil Deshmukh, house minister within the MVA authorities.
Singh was shunted out as Mumbai Police chief in March 2021 after the state authorities discovered alleged lapses within the probe into the restoration of explosives from outdoors industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s home, Antilia, in Mumbai in February 2021.
Sanjay Pandey was requested to conduct a preliminary probe towards Singh. It was after his switch that Singh dropped the ‘letter bomb’ within the inboxes of the Maharashtra Governor and the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray making allegations towards Deshmukh.
Singh later approached the CBI alleging that Pandey tried to supply him a settlement coercing him to withdraw his allegations towards Deshmukh, an MLA with the then Sharad Pawar-led NCP. Pandey refuted the allegations.
ED & CBI case towards Pandey
Pandey retired from the pressure as Mumbai Police chief on 30 June, 2022. Inside per week of his retirement, the CBI booked him for allegedly tapping telephones of NSE workers, after which the ED too registered a case and arrested Pandey on 19 July that yr.
The ED alleged that iSec, an organization the place Pandey was a former director and his mom is listed because the founder and one of many administrators, illegally intercepted MTNL strains on the NSE between 2009 and 2017. It additional alleged that the corporate and Pandey, on the NSE management’s path, recorded calls of greater than 100 workers and brokers.
Pandey’s lawyer had in 2022 informed ThePrint that iSec was not monitoring any calls reside, however was simply “analysing the transcripts of the conversations” that the NSE had handed over to it. Pandey had said earlier than a trial courtroom that he had dealt with many politically delicate circumstances in his profession and the proceedings towards him are a “political fallout of sincere and honest discharge of his duties as a senior police officer”.
The Delhi Excessive Courtroom granted Pandey bail in December 2022.
Pandey, an IIT-Kanpur graduate, has had a chequered profession. He had served as DCP in a zone that included Dharavi after the 1992-93 riots. Throughout his stint as DCP, he as soon as arrested late BJP chief Gopinath Munde for protesting at a police station.
Later within the decade, he went on central deputation and was a part of the prime minister’s safety unit in 1999.
At one level, Pandey resigned from the pressure and joined the personal sector.
Nevertheless, when his resignation was not accepted for a yr, he rejoined the pressure and shortly acquired embroiled in a litigation towards the state authorities, alleging he was stored on obligatory look forward to over three years. When the MVA authorities made Pandey appearing DGP, it was the primary vital posting that the IPS officer had acquired in years.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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