Rakesh Maria new Police Commissioner of Mumbai

MUMBAI: Senior IPS officer Rakesh Maria was appointed as Mumbai Police Commissioner today, a fortnight after Satyapal Singh quit the post to join politics.

Maria has headed probes into 1993 Mumbai blasts and 26/11 attacks on the city.

The decision to appoint Maria, currently the chief of Maharashtra Police's Anti-Terrorism squad, was taken after a high-level meeting here chaired by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and attended by Home Minister R R Patil.

Maria, a 1981 batch IPS officer, headed the probe into the 1993 Mumbai blasts.

He was also in-charge of the investigations into the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. His appointment comes a fortnight after Satyapal Singh quit as Mumbai Police Commissioner to join BJP.

Singh was the first serving Mumbai Police chief to resign. He was due to retire in 2015.