Jagannathan is new police chief of Nashik

NASHIK: With just a few months to go for the commencement of the Kumbh Mela, city police commissioner Kulwant Kumar Sarangal was transferred out of the city on Thursday. He is the third key official to be transferred out of Nashik in the run-up to the religious congregation. His next posting is yet to be decided.
The move is against the suggestions of the V Ramani commission of inquiry that probed into the death of 29 pilgrims in a stampede during the previous Kumbh in 2003.The commission recommends that abrupt transfers of key officials engaged in Kumbh preparations should be avoided as newly-posted officials need time to understand things.
Sarangal received the transfer orders citing administrative reasons from the home department. He will be replaced by S Jagannathan, who served as the IGP, State Human Rights Commission, Maharashtra. The new commissioner will take charge soon.
In view of the ensuing mela, Sarangal’s transfer has come as a shock to many as he has been into the thick of things related to the 12-yearly religious congregation right from the beginning.
Further, Sarangal is the third key officer, who has been transferred from Nashik, following the transfers of district collector Vilas Patil on February 6 and Nashik municipal commissioner Sanjay Khandare on April 13.
Sarangal took charge of the Nashik police commissionerate on February 10, 2012. In the past three years during his tenure as commissioner of police, the crime graph of the city came drastically down, evident from the crime figures, which revolved around 4,100 before his tenure (from 2009 to 2011), and the drop by approximately 1,000 cases during the past three years (2012 to 2014), hovering around 3,100 cases. Quite a few police inspectors were also suspended as part of disciplinary action initiated by him.
Sarangal also kick started some police measures which were new to Nashik, in the form of ‘combing operation’, ‘all-out-operation’ and the all-women mobile squad, 'Nibhaya Mobile', in 2013 to ensure round-the-clock safety to women.