Mendonca `shunted’ yet again!

JANUARY 25: The highest court in the land ordered his reinstatement as director-general of police, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) only four days ago. But no, Chhagan Bhujbal just had to have his way. Neatly weaving its way around the Supreme Court’s January 22 verdict reinstating R H Mendonca as ACB chief, the state government has drawn yet another arrow from its bottomless quiver reserved for the upright officer, to keep him out the jurisdiction of Mumbai.

Towards this cherished end, the state Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a proposal bifurcating the ACB into `urban’ and `rural’ — and no guesses which division Mendonca will be asked to head. It’s rationalisation for a separate `urban’ division (the ACB’s jurisdiction has always been a state-level agency): The “effective implementation of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, in urban areas in view of the rapid growth in urbanisation”. Translated, it means two ACB commissionerates will be created — one `urban’ (read Mumbai) and the other `rural’, that is, for the rest of the state. Each will have an officer of the rank of director-general of police at its helm. While the urban division will he headquartered in Mumbai, which houses the state Secretariat and other important government establishments, the rural division will be shunted to Nagpur, away from political reach. A senior government officer told Newsline that the Cabinet’s far-reaching decision has its roots in the feud between Mendonca andDeputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who was not amused with the police officer’s continuance at the helm of the ACB following his reinstatement by the apex court on Monday.

Since the ACB is headed by an officer of the rank of director-general of police, the state Home Department headed by Bhujbal has suggested that the managing director of the Maharashtra Police Housing and Welfare Corporation (also held by an officer of the same rank), should be transferred to the ACB (urban). The post is currently occupied by S K Iyengar, with whom Mendonca swapped seats recently.

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The rational for this `transfer’ is that the state government is not allowed to increase the number of posts of director-general of police. Mendonca, of course, is expected to be posted in Nagpur.

Asked to comment on the development, Mendonca told Newsline: “I cannot say anything as I have read about this in the newspapers only.”