Mumbai, Sept. 8 (The Telegraph): Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria was today kicked upstairs summarily following a perception in the Maharashtra government that he was taking undue interest in the Sheena Bora murder case.

The state government promoted Maria to the innocuous post of director-general (homeguards) this morning and then asked him to hand over charge and leave the Mumbai police headquarters within four hours of the order. Maria was due for promotion but only from September 30.

The change while Maria was deeply involved in one of the most sensational murder cases the country has witnessed in recent memory ignited a firestorm of speculation. The state government chose to douse the flames by suggesting Maria can continue to supervise the Sheena murder probe but officials said it would not be tenable with a new police commissioner in place.

Maria has been known to be close to Peter Mukerjea, husband of prime accused Indrani, and a very senior Maharashtra politician.

The officer's keen interest and direct involvement in the Sheena case had elicited sarcasm from Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who also holds the home portfolio.

"The police have shown a lot of involvement and attention in a case which is in the media spotlight. It should pay similar attention to other cases which do not get media focus," Fadnavis, who belongs to the BJP, had dryly told reporters on Sunday, while taking care to compliment the police on the investigations.

BJP sources said Fadnavis had been upset with Maria since pictures of the officer meeting Lalit Modi in London were splashed in the media.

Lalit Modi is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate in money laundering cases.

"Maria was asked to explain in a report to the CM the circumstances and context of his meeting with Lalit Modi in the UK. Maria had said in his reply that Lalit's lawyer had approached him for the meeting because Lalit was scared about his security and underworld threats," said a government source.

Maria had also told Fadnavis at the time that he had informed the then home minister, the late R.R. Patil, about his meeting with Lalit in London. Patil was an NCP leader and a close associate of party boss Sharad Pawar.

"Maria had been made the commissioner of Mumbai police at Pawar's insistence despite grave opposition from then Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan who was aware of the association," said a Mumbai Congress source.

Prithviraj had wanted Ahmed Javed, Maria's senior who was made DGP (homeguards) by the Maharashtra home ministry headed by Patil. Today, Maria was made to switch places with Javed who has become the new police commissioner. A source close to him said Maria would advance the leave he had planned to take for his son's wedding in October.

Sources in the police said that Maria had been explicitly told by Fadnavis not to personally get involved with the investigations in the Sheena case. The chief minister had told him that it was not a police commissioner's job to do so.

"Fadnavis had also asked him not to personally interrogate the accused and the others in the case. In fact, he had asked him 'why do you need to keep going to the Khar police station'," said a police source.

The government was also cornered over Maria's association with Peter. There were reports that one of Maria's closest aides in Mumbai police had quit the force and joined Peter's team when he was one of the most powerful television executives in India.

With Maria's family running a film and TV production company called Kalaniketan, the two had a lot to bond over when Peter launched a company and sought to enter the general entertainment space.

On Monday night after Fadnavis had apparently read him the riot act, Maria had gone to Khar police station at night to take stock of the investigations - which was seen as an act of defiance.

But Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam said: "Maria was removed because of pressure from a big corporate house close to the party in power. There was no problem till Maria kept the investigations focused on the personal angle while protecting Peter. The problem arose when he mentioned the financial angle to the media on Monday night. That is when pressure built up to remove him."

On Monday night, Maria had addressed the media and let it be known that investigations were now going to focus on the financial angle.

This precipitated matters, sources said. "Fadnavis was upset that Maria had ignored his instruction so openly and gone to Khar again. So an hour before leaving his office to catch a flight for an official trip to Japan this morning, Fadnavis signed the papers for Mria's promotion," said an official.

Maria's close associates in Mumbai police believed, till the government's order reached him, that their boss would be allowed to stay on as police commissioner till September 30.

But the order said Maria had to relinquish charge immediately.

In the evening, the government played another card. State home secretary K.P. Bakshi announced that Maria would continue to supervise the Sheena investigations.

But Y.P. Singh, a former IPS officer who is now a lawyer and activist, said: "This is an illegal proposition. The police commissioner's post is a statutory position with powers vested on it by the criminal procedure law. He alone has the statutory power over Mumbai police -- not any DG of homeguards. How can Mumbai police investigators report to both the police commissioner and DG homeguards? It is not tenable. It is just a face-saving measure by the government to quell dissent from Maria and his aides."

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