Sivanandan supersedes Gafoor, made new Maha police chief

Mumbai, May 31: Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandan was today appointed Maharashtra’s new Director General of Police superseding two senior IPS officers including frontrunner for the top post Hasan Gafoor.

Sivanandan, a 1976 batch IPS officer, superseded Gafoor, an IPS officer of 1974 batch and DG (Housing) P P Srivastava of 1975 batch.

59-year-old Sivanandan took over the charge from A N Roy, who retired today, after handing over the reins of Mumbai Police Commissioner to Additional Director General (Special Operations) Sanjeev Dayal Dayal, a 1977 batch officer.

Director General (Anti-Corruption Bureau) Gafoor, who was shunted out as city police Commissioner after the 26/11 attacks, was a front-runner for the top job.

A special trial court hearing the 26/11 case held that some police personnel had behaved in a “cowardly” manner during the attacks.

Gafoor’s role during the terror assault had come under criticism from a government-appointed panel that went into the the attacks.

–Agencies