Niket Kaushik took charge as the Police Commissioner of Mira-Bhayander, Vasai-Virar (MBVV) Police Commissionerate on Thursday, July 10. Before taking charge as MBVV chief, Kaushik was the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP). Amid ongoing controversy over the Hindi-Marathi row, the Maharashtra Home Department has transferred two senior police officials in a massive reshuffle over the protest in Mira Road.
On Tuesday, the state home ministry appointed Niket Kaushik as the new Police Commissioner of MBVV. Kaushik was also the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) chief in Mumbai and has now replaced IPS officer Madhukar Pandey as per routine transfers in the state government.
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Pandey was transferred under Section 22(N) of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951. Political observers view the timing as significant, as it came just a day after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered an inquiry into the denial of permission for a Marathi protest march in the MBVV region.
The transfer comes after the protest organised by Marathi Ekikaran Samiti, along with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Shiv Sena (UBT), in Mira Road against the detention of MNS workers and for Maharashtra and Marathi language pride after the incident where a shopkeeper was assaulted by MNS workers for not speaking the regional language.
Ahead of the protest, police detained MNS leader Avinash Jadhav from his residence in Thane district in the early hours at around 3.30 am, adding to the controversy. Police had issued a prohibitory order against Jadhav, banning him from entering the Mira-Bhayander area for the next 24 hours.