On Monday, May 31, as many as 456 cops and ministerial clerical staff working with Mumbai Police retired on the eve of completion of 58 years. Among those who retired from the police department include investigators who played a key role in some of the most sensational and high-profile cases, including several terror probes, in the past.
According to reports, most of these police personnel, from constables to assistant commissioners of police (ACPs) rank, have June 1 as their birth date and retire on May 31.
However, in view of the coronavirus, official farewell functions for retiring cops have been cancelled since last March. Though, the department has restarted the felicitation ceremony again from this month due to a decrease in the daily cases in Mumbai.
Considering COVID-19 protocols, senior officers were instructed to keep low-key farewell functions on the respective police stations or other units.
Therefore, to ensure social distancing and avoid mass gathering, the commissioner of police Hemant Nagrale felicitated a group of only 27 retired police personnel selected on the basis of their seniority.
The function was held at JS Bharucha Hall at the police headquarters on Monday morning, but the family members of the police personnel were not invited to the retirement day function.
Those felicitated on their last day in the service include assistant commissioners of police (ACPs) Dattatray Bhadgude, Sukhlal Varpe, Rajendra Patil, Vijay Dhopawkar, Pandit Thorat, Pandharinath Waval, Kundalik Nigade, Vilas Kanade and senior inspectors Pandit Thackerey, Vinod Gadankush and Vidyasagar Kalkundre.
The retired cops were presented with wristwatches, a new identity card and a memento, among other gifts. The souvenirs for the other retired police personnel were sent to their homes.
An official stated that as the new academic sessions used to begin on June 1, children born in the 1960s and 1970s were often given that date as their date of birth, especially if their parents were unsure about the exact dates. Because of this, hundreds of government sector employees have their birth dates on June 1 and retire on May 31.