Rashmi Shukla appointed Maharashtra DGP

Rashmi Shukla takes over the reins from her 1988 batchmate Rajnish Seth, who retired on Sunday and became the the chairman of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission.

Maharashtra DGP Rashmi Shukla. (Express file)

After several delays, the Maharashtra government Thursday appointed 1988 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rashmi Shukla as the director general of police.

Though Shukla has been the front runner to take over the post since the then incumbent DGP Rajnish Seth was appointed as MPSC chief in October, the order to this effect was issued only on Thursday.
Seth, who retired on Sunday, took charge as the chairman of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) on Monday.

Sources in the government said that the process to appoint her as DGP was delayed due to administrative process.

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Shukla was on central deputation heading Sashastra Seema Bal, before which she was additional director general of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

While in the state police, she had served as Pune police commissioner and headed the State Intelligence Department (SID) when the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government was in power.
After the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government came to power in the state in 2019, it viewed her as being close to the BJP government.

It transferred her from her post as state intelligence commissioner (SID) to Civil Defence, seen as a non-executive, in 2020.

During the MVA rule, three FIRs were registered alleging that calls of MVA leaders were being intercepted illegally and data from the State Intelligence Department (SID), which Shukla had headed, was leaked to then Opposition leader Fadnavis. Shukla was named as an accused in two of the three cases.

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Since then, the Bombay High Court quashed two of the three FIRs – in Pune and Mumbai – registered against her. After the Eknath Shinde-Fadnavis government came to power in Maharashtra, the third case was transferred to the CBI.

Last year, this case was also closed after the court allowed the CBI’s closure report, paving the way for her return to the state.

Long seen as the frontrunner for the post of the DGP, Shukla, who retires in June 2024, was congratulated on X by BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar in October when the government had issued the transfer order of Seth to the MPSC. However, since Shukla’s appointment was not announced then, he eventually deleted the post.

While Shukla retires in June, she could get extensions if the government so desires. In the past, the state government has given multiple extensions lasting upto six months to state DGPs.

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