Maharashtra Police
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Maharashtra Police (
IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: ''Mahārāṣṭra Polīs Sēvā'', formerly ''
Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding So ...
Police'') is the
law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LE ...
responsible for the
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
n state of
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...
. It is headed by Director General of Police, Rajnish Seth (IPS), and headquartered in
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
,
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...
. It is one of the largest police departments in the country, having about 36 district police units in the state. The Maharashtra Police Department has a strength of nearly 1.95
lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For e ...
. It also has 15,000 women in its force.


History

During the 17th century (until 1655), the area of present-day Mumbai was under Portuguese control. The Portuguese formed a basic law enforcement structure in this area with the establishment of a Police outpost in 1661.Mumbai Police – History
at th
Mumbai Police Website
/ref> The origins of the present day Mumbai police can be traced back to a militia organized by
Gerald Aungier Gerald Aungier (1640 – 30 June 1677) was the 2nd Governor of Bombay. He was made the president of the Surat factory and the governor of Bombay in 1669, which posts he held until his death in 1677. He was responsible for the initial growth o ...
, the then
Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...
in 1669. This Bhandari Militia was composed of around 500 men and was headquartered at
Mahim Mahim (Marathi pronunciation: aːɦiːm(Marathi: माहिम) is a neighbourhood in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Mahim Junction railway station on the Western Railway and Harbour Railway of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network is the l ...
, Sevree and Sion. In 1672, the judicial overview of police decisions by courts was introduced, although none of the judges had any actual legal training. The situation remained unchanged through the Maratha wars.Mumbai Police Force
History on
TIFR Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a public deemed research university located in Mumbai, India that is dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the D ...
website.
However, by 1682, policing remained stagnant. There was only one ensign for the whole Bhandari militia, and there were only three sergeants and two corporals. In 1936, the Sind Province Police was split from the Bombay Province Police. In 1947, it was renamed to Bombay State Police, following
India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...
. After the
States Reorganisation Act, 1956 The States Reorganisation act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries have been made since 1956, the States ...
, the Bombay State Police was divided into
Gujarat Police The ' is the law enforcement agency for the state of Gujarat in India. The Gujarat Police has its headquarters in Gandhinagar, the state capital, and Ahmedabad. The Gujarat Police Department came into existence after Gujarat's separation fr ...
, Mysore Police (later renamed
Karnataka Police The Karnataka State Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Karnataka. The department is headed by the Director General and Inspector General of Police. Organization The District Police administration is headed ...
) and Maharashtra Police. The Maharashtra Police Headquarters moved into what was known as the Royal Alfred Sailors' Home, in 1896. Construction began on the building in early 1872 and was finished four years later, in 1876. As its name suggests, it was made to accommodate 20 officers and 100 seamen. However, the building was actually conceived to commemorate the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh in 1870. The Duke laid the Foundation stone during his visit. The Maharashtra government acquired the building in 1928 to house the Bombay Legislative Council. The Police Department subsequently moved in after it was vacated.


Headquarters

The Maharashtra Police Headquarters is in a Grade I listed its heritage building that was built between 1872 and 1876 and designed by
Frederick William Stevens Frederick William Stevens (11 November 1847 – 5 March 1900) was an English architectural engineer who worked for the British colonial government in India. Stevens' most notable design was the railway station Victoria Terminus in Bombay (in 199 ...
(who designed the Victoria Terminus). During the
British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
, it served as the Royal Alfred Sailors' Home, named after Prince Alfred, the second son of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
and Prince Albert, who visited Bombay in 1870. The building was used to house sick European sailors. After 1928, it served as the Legislative Assembly and then the Bombay Council Hall until 1982, when the Maharashtra Police moved into the building.


Insignia of Maharashtra Police (State Police)


Gazetted Officers


Non-gazetted officers


Special units


State Intelligence Department

The State Intelligence Department (SID) came into existence in 1905 as the
Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...
(CID) and was renamed to its current name in 1981. It is headed by the Commissioner of Intelligence.


Maharashtra State Criminal Investigation Department

Maharashtra State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is a Crime Branch which was established in 1905 and is headquartered in
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
. It is headed by the Additional Director General of Police.


Anti-Terrorism Squad

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) unit was created by the Government of Maharashtra in 2004 for countering
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
. It works in coordination with Central Agencies such as Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).


Quick Response Team

The Quick Response Team (QRT) was created to protect the coasts of Maharashtra. Since Mumbai is vulnerable to attacks from terrorists and underworld elements, there was a need for a highly trained, motivated, young, fit and fully equipped team to tackle such groups and to terminate hostage situations. This team responds in the shortest time, moves by fastest means, takes action to collect tactical information and neutralizes the threat. They rescue hostages, render assistance to Central forces and other State forces on Government duty. On the occasion of 30th Maharashtra Road Safety Week, Maharashtra Police launched "Cop for a Day" Program, this new initiative allows any citizen to be a part of the Maharashtra Police Force for 1 Day and be associated with different departments within Maharashtra Police


Anti-Corruption Bureau

Anti Corruption Bureau, Maharashtra is an agency of Government of Maharashtra constituted to investigate offences of bribery and corruption falling within the purview of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 in the state of Maharashtra.


Force One

Force One is an elite counter-terrorism unit of the Maharashtra Police. It guards the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Mumbai Metropolitan Region (abbreviated to MMR and previously also as Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area), is a metropolitan area consisting of Mumbai (Bombay) and its satellite towns in the northern Konkan division, of the Maharashtra state in ...
, which is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. It was formed by
Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisla ...
on the lines of National Security Guard (NSG) as a response to the 2008 Mumbai attacks and was commissioned two days before its first anniversary. A list of the Indian Police Service (IPS) and State Police Service (SPS) officers of Force One is given below:


Highway Traffic Police

The Highway Traffic Police branch was created in 1993 to monitor operations on Indian roads and highways.


State Reserve Police Force

The State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) was created on 6 March 1948 as a Special Armed Police Force of the State of Maharashtra.


Other Departments

* Training Directorate * Protection of Civil Rights Cell * Motor Transport Unit: This was established in 1948 to cater to the needs of mobility of Maharashtra Police. * State Police Wireless: Established before 1947


Notes


References

{{Law enforcement in India State law enforcement agencies of India Government agencies with year of establishment missing