NIA Chief Sadanand Date Set to Lead Maharashtra Police: Repatriation Amid Rashmi Shukla's Retirement

Image Source: Internet

In a significant development, senior IPS officer Sadanand Vasant Date has been repatriated to Maharashtra, paving the way for his likely appointment as the state's police chief. The 1990-batch IPS officer, who has been heading the National Investigation Agency (NIA) since March last year, is the senior most IPS officer in Maharashtra after Director General Rashmi Shukla retires on January 3 next year. Date, a 26/11 hero, is being tipped to succeed Shukla as the Director General of Maharashtra Police. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the premature repatriation of NIA Director General Date to his parent cadre in Maharashtra, as per a government order issued on Monday. The 59-year-old officer has an illustrious career, having served as the Maharashtra ATS chief, DIG in the Central Bureau of Investigation, IG (Ops) in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Commissioner of Police for Mira-Bhayandar and Vasai-Virar city near Mumbai. Date was also honoured with the President's Police Medal for gallantry for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. During the 2008 attack, Date received a call about terrorists firing near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and later at Cama hospital. He and his team pinned down two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists on the rooftop of the hospital, but faced a setback due to indiscriminate firing and grenade lobbing by the terrorists. Date's bravery earned him a doctorate in economic offences from Pune university, and he still carries permanent remnants of the attack, including metal splinters near his eye, which he views as 'medals' from a war zone.