Former National Investigation Agency (NIA) director general Sadanand Date has been appointed Maharashtra’s director general of police (DGP) for a two-year term, the state government announced on Wednesday.
A 1990-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, Date will take charge from incumbent Rashmi Shukla when she demits office on January 3. The home department’s appointment order specifies that Date will serve a full two-year term, irrespective of his date of retirement. He is due to turn 60 in December next year.
From NIA To State Police Chief
Date was serving as the director general of the NIA until March 2024, when he moved to New Delhi to head the country’s premier anti-terrorism agency. He was repatriated to Maharashtra two weeks ago at the request of the state government, which sought to appoint him as the state’s top police officer.
Before his stint at the NIA, Date headed the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), a position he held until March 2024.
UPSC Panel And Selection
Last week, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) recommended a panel of three IPS officers for the post of Maharashtra DGP. Apart from Date, the list included Sanjay Verma, director general (Legal and Technical), and Ritesh Kumar, commandant general of Home Guards.
The state government subsequently selected Date from the panel.
Gallantry During 26/11 Attacks
Sadanand Date is widely known for his role during the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. He was awarded the President’s Medal for Gallantry for his actions during the siege at the Cama and Albless Hospital in south Mumbai.
At the time, Date was serving as additional commissioner of police for the Central Region. He confronted Ajmal Kasab and Abu Ismail, two of the 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists involved in the attacks, after they entered the hospital following their assault at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
Rescue Under Fire
During the operation, Date and a small team of Mumbai police personnel rescued lift operator Chandrakant Tikke, who was being held hostage and used as a human shield by Kasab. The terrorists opened fire and hurled grenades as police closed in.
Date suffered a blackout following a grenade explosion, allowing Kasab and Ismail to flee. He sustained injuries to his eyes, throat, chest and right knee, along with deep wounds on his left ankle. Two members of his team were killed in the exchange of fire.
Aftermath Of The Hospital Siege
Within 15 minutes of escaping the hospital, Kasab and Abu Ismail went on to kill then ATS chief Hemant Karkare, encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and additional commissioner of police Ashok Kamte in an adjoining lane, marking one of the darkest chapters of the 26/11 attacks.
With Date’s appointment, Maharashtra now has a police chief whose career has been closely tied to some of the most critical counter-terror operations in the state’s recent history.
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