Nagpur: Ahead of the model code of conduct, in accordance with Election Commission guidelines, officers who have served in the same district for an extended period are being transferred across Maharashtra. The series of transfers began with an IPS reshuffle in Maharashtra, and the order also proposes the transfers of Police Inspectors (PIs), Assistant Police Inspectors (APIs), and Police Sub-Inspectors (PSIs).
While transfers for PIs have been initiated, a significant disparity is evident when it comes to APIs and PSIs’ transfers. Speaking to Nagpur Today, APIs and PSIs shared their disappointment with the transfers within the same Lok Sabha territory.
“While the Election Commission guidelines specifically mention that any officers, including PIs, APIs, and PSIs, who have completed their tenure in any district should be transferred from it, only internal transfers have been made from Rural Police to City Police and vice versa in Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Pimpri Chinchwad, Thane, and Nashik Commissionerate. This is a sheer mockery of Election Commission guidelines,” they said.
Sources also mentioned that APIs are not only a gazetted post but, owing to the scarcity of PIs in the Second Capital of the State, APIs from the Crime Branch are fulfilling their shoes in critical investigations. They have an acute network in the region, and perhaps, their transfer within Lok Sabha territory could be a political decision.
It is important to note that when calculating tenure postings in Specialized Agencies (SID, PCR, CID, HSP, ACB, ATS, etc.), they will not be taken into consideration.
Despite satisfying all the criteria, APIs and PSIs are feeling disappointed and deprived of designated postings.
Now it will be interesting to see what Election Commission takes action on this development.
– Shubham Nagdeve
