MAT Orders Transfer Revokement of 15 Pune District Police Inspectors

Pimpri Chinchwad, 5th March 2024: In anticipation of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, 130 police inspectors in Maharashtra were initially transferred to different units, prompting several officials to approach the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) in protest. The transfers of 65 police inspectors, who had challenged the orders before MAT, have been revoked. This includes 13 police inspectors from Pimpri-Chinchwad and 2 police inspectors from Pune city.

The Director General of Police’s office sought information on deployable police inspectors from unit heads in preparation for the Lok Sabha elections. Based on this information, 130 police inspectors in the state were transferred to other units. Some of the affected inspectors appealed to the MAT against these transfers.

In response, MAT instructed the Chief Electoral Officers of the state to verify the transfer orders. On February 21, the Chief Electoral Officer conducted a meeting with the relevant department heads. As a result, a total of 23 police inspectors, including 2 from Pune City, 13 from Pimpri-Chinchwad, 7 from Thane City, and 1 from the Special Inspector General of Police Kolhapur Zone, who were working in executive roles in their respective units on December 21, 2023, had their transfers outside the district rescinded, as per the criteria set by the Election Commission. The Chief Electoral Officer emphasized that exemptions were granted in these cases.

Following the directive from the Chief Election Officer, the office of the Director General verified the transfers of 42 police inspectors. Subsequently, orders were issued to cancel the transfers of 65 police inspectors, as instructed by the Additional Director General of Police (Establishment) Sanjiv Kumar Singhal.

Among the police inspectors in the Pimpri-Chinchwad City Force, the transfers of the following officers have been cancelled:
– Shankar Damse
– Shailesh Gaikwad
– Shankar Babar
– Dnyaneshwar Sable
– Dipali Dhadge
– Prasad Gokule
– Sunil Pinjan
– Vishwajit Khule
– Balkrishna Sawant
– Deepak Salunkhe
– Shahaji Pawar
– Arvind Pawar
– Anil Devde

Additionally, the transfers of the following police inspectors in Pimpri-Chinchwad City Force have also been cancelled:
– Vinayak Vetal
– Raju Chavan