MUMBAI: In a series of events following the arrest of Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with its probe into the recovery of explosives from an SUV car, Scorpio near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's house 'Antilia' in south Mumbai, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh has been shunted out.

Hemant Nagrale, a 1987-batch IPS officer, who was the Director-General of Police (DGP) of Maharashtra has been appointed in place of Singh who has now been transferred to the Home Guard department which can be technically seen as an insignificant posting or as an insider term, is a punishment posting. 

Ever since Waze's name cropped up in the case with his arrest and subsequent investigation Singh's name came under the scanner. Waze was directly reporting to Param Bir Singh and it was under Singh headed review committee that had reinstated Waze after 16 years of suspension despite a court order against the controversial cop.

The opposition led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been demanding the removal of Singh, however, our sources say that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar had spoken to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and advised him to take urgent radical steps to damage control the situation which was spoiling the image of the Mumbai Police and the state government. 

The NCP chief is the most experienced politician in the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which comprises the Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress Party and Thackeray definitely looks up to him as a mentor and guide.

The case was earlier being probed by the Mumbai Crime Branch and then the state Anti-Terror Squad, however after the owner of Scorpio, Hiren Mansukh was found dead in Kalwa creek, the centre ordered the case to be handed over to the NIA last week. Waze was arrested in the case on Sunday and after his pre-arrest bail was rejected by a Thane court and has been remanded to the NIA custody till March 25.

A day after his Scorpio was found in the said case, Mansukh had come out and had said that, though it was his car, it had been stolen from Airoli-Mulund Bridge on February 18. Hiran's wife has however claimed that her husband had given the SUV to Waze in November, who had used it for nearly three months after which he returned in the first week of February. 

On Tuesday evening CM Thackeray had a long meeting lasting beyond midnight with Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, DGP Hemant Nagrale and Parambir Singh at his official residence where the developments of the case and its ramification were discussed in details it is likely that the change in the guard would also have been reviewed.

Hemant Nagrale was given the additional charge of DGP besides his current position as DG-Technical and Legal on January 8, 2021, before which he served as Police Commissioner of Navi Mumbai from May 2016 to July 2018. 

Prior to that Nagrale has also served in various capacities in the state departments and Mumbai Police. He was the joint commissioner of police-administration in Mumbai Police. Nagrale also held an additional charge as Commissioner of Police-Mumbai for a brief period in 2014. He was a special inspector general-administration in the Director-General office and Special Inspector General at Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL).

The Mumbai terror attacks which happened on 26 November 2008 occurred during his deputation with MSEDCL and he played an important role in helping those injured at the Leopold Hotel and those stuck in the Taj Hotel at Colaba where four armed terrorists had entered and created havoc.

On the way to the main entrance of Taj Hotel, he and his team also discovered a live RDX bomb in a bag and the information was passed on to the bomb squad and who latter defused the explosives.

Hemant Nagrale was previously deputed with the Central Bureau of Investigation, and during his tenure, he was involved in the investigations of the Harshad Mehta scam and Ketan Parekh scam.