Mumbai, Nov 19: Senior IPS officer Dr P S Pasricha today took over as the 30th Police Commissioner of the elite Mumbai Police Force, succeeding R S Sharma, who has been reportedly indicted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the multi-crore counterfeit stamp-paper racket. Pasricha, a 1970 batch IPS officer, formally assumed charge of the prestigious post from Dr Satyapal Singh, the acting commissioner of City Police, at the Crawford market Mumbai Police Headquarters. Pasricha is the second Sikh officer to head the Mumbai police force after A S Samra.
Sharma, who is due for retirement on November 30, proceeded on leave on November 14, in the backdrop of sit, at the directive of Mumbai High Court, submitting its confidential report on Sharma to the Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.
The announcement of Pasricha's name for the City Police Chief's post was made last evening ending speculations over as to who would succeed Sharma. Pasricha takes over the charge at a time when the city police force's image has suffered a severe blow following alleged involvement of senior police officials into the multi-crore stamp-paper racket. Prior to proceeding on leave, Sharma was grilled for consecutive two days by the sit, which has already arrested senior IPS officer Sridhar Wagal for his alleged involvement in the scam.

Bureau Report