This story is from January 24, 2017

I was the one who brought Sheena Bora murder to light, says ex-top cop Rakesh Maria

Maria, regarded as a tenacious investigator who cracked the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, was shunted out as director general (home guards) for his final posting, a fairly nondescript role at the end of a series of high-profile appointments.
I was the one who brought Sheena Bora murder to light, says ex-top cop Rakesh Maria
Senior IPS officer Rakesh Maria. (PTI)
Key Highlights
  • Rakesh Maria did not “regret” his handling of the Sheena Bora case
  • Maria said the Sheena Bora murder would not have come to light but for him
MUMBAI: Days ahead of retirement after a celebrated career, senior IPS officer Rakesh Maria told TOI that he did not “regret” his handling of the Sheena Bora case although it prompted chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to transfer him unceremoniously from the Mumbai police commissioner’s post.
Maria, regarded as a tenacious investigator who cracked the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, was shunted out as director general (home guards) for his final posting, a fairly nondescript role at the end of a series of high-profile appointments.

Breaking his silence in an exclusive interview, Maria said the Sheena Bora murder would not have come to light but for him.
In a subtle yet unambiguous comeback at the powers-that-be, he said the police commissioner’s post was not a “showpiece”. The CM, while criticising Maria for showing “undue interest” in the probe, had told media that “a police chief is not an investigation officer, but just a supervisory authority”.
Fadnavis transferred him in September 2015, days before his promotion was to come through. Maria, who retires next week, said “the job profile of police commissioner is prevention, investigation of serious crimes and maintaining law and order’’.
“My only weakness was investigations and interrogations,’’ he said while referring to his penchant for close involvement in probes.
Maria, a Bandra boy whose family was in the film business, hangs up his boots as a police officer at the end of this month. He was opening up for the first time in 16 months after the transfer which also led to him being denied the job of DG (Anti-corruption), a post that’s still lying vacant.

While complimenting the Mumbai police investigation in the Sheena murder probe, the CM had taken a veiled dig at Maria. “It (Mumbai police) should pay similar attention to other cases which do not get media focus,” he had said. One of the reasons was that commissioner Maria would personally visit Khar police station where suspects including Indrani Mukherjea were being interrogated.
Regarding allegations that he tried to protect Indrani’s husband Peter (who was later arrested by the CBI), Maria said, “I had never met Peter in my life. I interrogated him only at Khar police station for the first time on September 7 in the presence of several senior officers. I was not satisfied with Peter's statement and hence gave him a day's time to come out clean and I asked my officers to deeply probe Peter's involvement. Next day I received my transfer order.” Maria said he visited Khar police station to supervise the investigations as Peter was “acting smart” and was trying to take junior officers for granted.
A senior officer described Maria as an officer with a deep understanding of the criminal psyche. “He has a knack for it,’’ the officer added. “Mysterious and jigsaw crimes have always been a challenge for me and this has always been my weakness. If I have to live my life again, I would want to go back to policing,” said Maria.
Recalling the high points in an eventful career, Maria said as the commissioner he was with his officers on the field when 1993 bomb blast convict Yakub Memon was hanged two years ago. The city was tense when his body arrived in Mumbai for burial. Thousands of angry mourners had gathered for the funeral. “I was also present at Lalbaug after a clash broke out between two groups over a woman who was allegedly slapped by a few bike-borne youngsters,’’ he said. Maria had also overseen the probe into the murder of Andhra Pradesh techie Esther Anhuya. The Esther Anhuya case led to the conviction of the killer, who was sentenced to death.
Maria, who has a passion for basketball, said he plans to work towards promoting sports in the city besides writing a book on his career after retirement.
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