D. Sivanandan, Retired Director-General Of Police, Maharashtra, And Former Police Commissioner Of Mumbai
D. Sivanandan is one of India’s most highly regarded Indian Police Service (IPS) officers. He joined the IPS in 1976 and retired as Director General of Police of Maharashtra in 2011. He was Police Commissioner of Mumbai in 2009, promoted in the aftermath of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. Sivanandan helped build the city’s defences with state-of-the-art equipment.
Before this, he had a two-year tenure in Mumbai as the city’s Joint Commissioner of Police in 1998. During his time, the city saw a sharp decline in organised crime due to his measures.
His career has spanned multiple high-profile postings over 35 years, and he is known for his use of strategy and intelligence to uphold the rule of law. He also helped restructure India’s internal and external national security provisions as a member of a special task force in the National Security Council Secretariat.
Presently, Sivanandan is the chairman of a security investigations and assessments company called Securus First India Pvt. Ltd. He is also the co-author of ‘Chanakya’s Seven Secrets of Leadership.
Sivanandan administers the very efficient functioning of Mumbai Roti Bank, an NGO founded by him in 2018. Sivanandhan saw the direct link between hunger and crime and started Mumbai Roti Bank to stop it.
In his talk to RCB, Sivanandan shared his opinion about the headline-grabbing cases of Antilla, Pegasus, and Aryan Khan, and encounter specialists. He also spoke about what it took to make Mumbai safe.
“When I came here in 1998, there were 101 shootouts in just one year. Whereas, from 2002 till now, there is not a single shootout.
(To achieve this) 1600 man-hours were spent, we had to motivate and build a team. Yes, it happened as per law under Section 100 of the IPC.
When 101 businessmen were shot, the state Government was in question for the collapse of law and order. So, they needed me to come from Gadchiroli and do a clean-up operation pending for 40 years. Somebody had to take the jhaadu and clean; I did that. Later, I became the Commissioner. After the 26/11 disaster, they needed someone like me as morale was low; people thought that the Mumbai Police could not protect them; I became the Commissioner because there was a crisis. So, you need crisis management people who are clean and who will deliver. So, my appeal to young bureaucrats is, honesty and delivery of service, when combined, makes you the most sought-after person.
The Mumbai Roti Bank has served seven million meals so far during the pandemic. Now we aim to reach out to children with the re-opening of schools. We serve rice, roti, sabzi, banana.
In hunger management, India is ranked at 104 from 116 countries – Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal are way ahead of us. Our hunger management is not up to the mark. We began the Roti Bank so that there is no food
wastage. With one call, we can pick up food from houses, parties, and weddings and deliver it to the poor and needy within the hour. We have our own kitchens as well. Money flows, and the generosity of Mumbaikars is unlimited.”