Mumbai police chief postpones annual event ‘Umang’, cites rising Covid cases

‘Umang’ was scheduled to take place in the Jio Garden at BKC on Sunday and around 12,000 people, including politicians, celebrities, bureaucrats and police personnel, were invited.

According to police historian Deepak Rao, the programme is organised for the welfare of the junior-ranked police officers and constables.

“The department started holding ‘Umang’ in the early 2000s in order to keep their junior-ranked officers and families happy,” he said.

The idea behind organising ‘Umang’ was to give lower-ranked police officers, who are often seen giving security cover to politicians and celebrities, a chance to brush their shoulders with them.

“These constabulary rank officers also get to perform with these Bollywood superstars which helps in boosting their morale,” an IPS officer said.

Rao said, “These IPS officers and their families often meet high profile people in some function or the other. So one of these IPS officers and his wife had decided to come up with the idea of organising ‘Umang’. The idea was encouraged and it has now grown to become an annual event.”

However, ‘Umang’ was conceived to be organised around Diwali and many were amazed when it was announced in the rainy season.

“Diwali is a joyous occasion and it was to be celebrated during that time. Since it is a holiday season for schools and colleges, it was thought that the children of these lower-ranked officers would also get a chance to enjoy,” Rao said.

However, with Pandey set to retire on June 30, he decided to hold the annual event on Sunday, June 26. Accordingly, celebrities were informed and requested to perform while invitations and entry passes were also printed and distributed.

“The preparation for the programme was started weeks ago and several high-profile people were invited. However we started having second thoughts after the political crisis erupted as there is fear of a law-and-order problem cropping up and it is necessary to have as many personnel on the ground as possible,” the officer said.

Another police officer said the police department cannot organise a grand event when the government is in crisis and, hence, it has been rescheduled.

However, the reason cited by the commissioner for putting off the event has created resentment among the junior-ranked police personnel, with many saying that offices and schools in the state are running at full capacity. “Citing the prevailing Covid situation in the state for postponing the event does not appear convincing as government and political events, wedding ceremonies as well as other events are taking place without restrictions,” a police constable said.