Param Bir Singh new commissioner of Mumbai Police

The Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government on Saturday appointed senior IPS officer Param Bir Singh, the current Director General of the state Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB), as the new Police Commissioner of Mumbai replacing Sanjay Barve.

Appointment of Singh, who was posted as the Director General (DG) of the Maharashtra Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB), was announced a day after state Home Minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh ruled out granting a third extension to Barve.

Interestingly, the ACB headed by Singh had given a clean chit to NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who is currently the state deputy chief minister, in connection with alleged scam involving 12 Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) projects, in December last year.

Singh's predecessor Barve was recently embroiled in a controversy over granting the work to digitise Mumbai Police records to a firm owned by his son and wife pro bono (without charging money).

In a video message posted on Twitter, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said, "Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Barve is retiring today. Singh has been named as his successor. This announcement has been made after discussion with the honourable chief minister."