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IPS officer Rashmi Shukla has been reinstated as the Director General of Police (DGP) of Maharashtra. The state home department formalised her reappointment late Monday, after the conclusion of the election code of conduct.
Ms Shukla was transferred two weeks before the Maharashtra Assembly polls following the Election Commission's directive. She will now resume her duties as the state's top police officer. Sanjay Kumar Verma, who served as the interim DGP, will return to his original position as DG Legal and Technical.
Here are some facts about IPS Rashmi Shukla:
1. Rashmi Shukla, a 1988-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, is one of the senior members of the Maharashtra police force. She served as the Police Commissioner of Pune and was deputed to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as an Additional Director General (ADG) in Hyderabad. After her tenure in the CRPF, Ms Shukla was appointed the head of the Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB), a paramilitary force. She is the first woman to become Maharashtra's police chief.
2. During the BJP-Shiv Sena government led by Devendra Fadnavis (2014-19), Ms Shukla served as the Commissioner of the State Intelligence Department (SID). Her tenure, however, was controversial.
3. She faced accusations of illegally tapping the phones of several prominent political leaders, including state Congress chief Nana Patole, NCP leader Eknath Khadse, and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut. These allegations led to three FIRs against her in Mumbai and Pune under the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. One of the cases involved the alleged leak of a phone-tapping report. Ms Shukla was named an accused in two of the three cases.
4. In December, the Bombay High Court quashed two of the FIRs against her. The Shinde-Fadnavis government transferred the third case, involving phone tapping allegations, to the CBI. The CBI closed the case after filing a closure report, allowing Ms Shukla's return to her position.
5. The Election Commission had ordered the transfer of Ms Shukla after the opposition, primarily Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), alleged that she was biased towards the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance and claimed her role as DGP would hinder fair elections. The Maharashtra government reinstated her on Monday after the conclusion of the election code of conduct.