Nagpur: Senior IPS officer Vishwas Nangre Patil is set to assume charge as Nagpur city commissioner of police on Monday. Nangre Patil will succeed Ravinder Singal, who replaced the former as additional director general of police in the State Anti-Corruption Bureau.Nangre Patil, known for his bravery at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, brings vast experience in maintaining law and order from his earlier stint as DCP and Joint CP in Mumbai.As he steps into the new role, Nangre Patil will confront several pressing challenges in the state’s second capital. “Nagpur has witnessed incidents like Akku Yadav’s courtroom murder, riots in Mahal on March 17 last year and Khairlanji agitation, which took police by surprise,” said a retired cop.Murder cases are another challenge. Nagpur witnessed 17 murders in May this year. Nagpur also houses the RSS headquarters. “After the recent controversy over Nangre Patil’s speech praising the RSS, his neutrality will be under scrutiny,” said a senior official.Maintaining communal harmony and combating rising crime, including land disputes and organised syndicates, will have to be top on the agenda. Strengthening street-level policing while ensuring swift response will be key.“With a surge in cybercrime and digital frauds across Maharashtra, and Nagpur witnessing an increase in cases of online cheating, hate speech dissemination and blackmail, modernising the cyber cell and improving coordination with central agencies will demand focused attention,” said an official.Patil is also expected to intensify de-addiction drives and awareness campaigns, like the previous initiatives like Operation Thunder taken during Singal’s tenure.Traffic management and public safety would also figure prominently on his to-do list, alongside building people-centric policing through direct public interactions — a hallmark of his style.Patil has said he will outline his vision after taking charge.
