Meet IPS Officer Rashmi Shukla, Maharashtra's New DGP Who Started Pune's 'Buddy Cop' Initiative

New Delhi: Rashmi Shukla is the latest appointee for the post of Director General of Police (DGP) in Maharashtra. She is one of the most senior IPS officers in the state, having joined the service in 1988. Shukla has a reputation of being a dynamic and proactive officer, who launched several initiatives like 'buddy cop' to enhance the safety and security of women and senior citizens in Pune, where she served as the Police Commissioner. She also headed the State Intelligence Department (SID), where she was responsible for gathering and analyzing intelligence inputs. She was shunted out from her SID post to a non-executive post of Civil Defence by the MVA government. She then opted for central deputation as ADG Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and was posted in Hyderabad till now.

Phone Tapping Controversies

The Bombay high court dismissed two unlawful cases of phone tapping against Shukla earlier this month. She was charged in the first FIR in Mumbai for tapping the phones of Sanjay Raut, a leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), and Eknath Khadse, a leader of Nationalist Congress Party, without permission. In the second FIR in Pune, she was alleged to have tapped the phones of Nana Patole, a leader of Congress, illegally.

She has also been alleged to have leaked a classified report that exposed a nexus between some police officers and middlemen who offered transfers and postings for money. The complaint said that she had leaked a confidential report that she had made in 2020 when she was the commissioner of SID. Shukla has denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that she acted in the interest of national security and public service. 

A Challenging Role Ahead

Shukla will replace Rajnish Seth, another 1988-batch IPS officer, who has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC). Seth was the acting DGP since July 2020, after Subodh Jaiswal went on central deputation. Shukla will have to deal with several challenges as the new DGP of Maharashtra, such as maintaining law and order, tackling crime and terrorism.

Shukla's appointment as the new DGP of Maharashtra has been welcomed by some sections of the society, who see her as an honest and competent officer. However, others have expressed doubts about her impartiality and integrity, given her past controversies and political affiliations. It remains to be seen how Shukla will perform in her new role and how she will balance the expectations and pressures from different quarters.