Top posts lie vacant as 20 sr cops bide time 'ped ke niche'

At least 10 police stations, two police divisions and a cyber-crime detection unit in the city have been headless for several months now, with junior officers having little experience in handling complex law and order situations filling in for the roles.

- Manish Kumar Pathak

MUMBAI: Meanwhile, over 20 senior police officers, each with more than 20 years of experience in detecting and cracking sensitive cases, have been stationed at the police control room at the Commissioner of Police (CP) office in south Mumbai, awaiting specific postings, in some cases for more than six months.

The ranks of officers without proper postings include at least 11 senior inspectors, one of whom headed two police stations in the city during the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. Two assistant commissioners of police (ACP) — including an ACP who probed the murders of Bollywood actress Laila Khan, her three siblings and their mother — and around ten inspector cadre officers also feature in this list.

Though these officers have been marking their attendance at the CP office regularly, they are rarely assigned work, except during bandobast duties coinciding with important events and festivals. When asked where they are posted, they all have a standard response: 'Ped ke niche', which translates as 'under the tree'.