In his Facebook post, DGP Sanjay Pandey said that a posting with the ATS could get an officer 25 per cent extra salary by way of allowances. He asked officers to express their willingness on his wall, or to meet him or ATS Chief Vineet Agarwal

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New Delhi, February 14

In what could be called a first of its kind, a state police Chief invited IPS officers to consider the postings in a premier investigation agency by using social media. Maharashtra DGP recently posted on Facebook to get officer for post in Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), the most sought after postings few years ago. 

DGP Maharashtra Sanjay Pandey recently wrote to the Maharashtra Government seeking more officials for the ATS. DGP Pandey then used Facebook to mention about the vacancies in ATS and sought applications.

Interestingly, in his Facebook post, DGP Sanjay Pandey said that a posting with the ATS could get an officer 25 per cent extra salary by way of allowances. He asked officers to express their willingness on his wall, or to meet him or Agarwal.

DGP Pandey had written to the state government after the Maharashtra ATS Chief Vineet Agarwal wrote to Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Manu Kumar Shrivastava about several positions in ATS lying vacant including senior posts of IGPs and SPs. 

As per the officials in ATS, at present, the post occupied by former ATS IG Suhas Warke is vacant since an year of his transfer. After DIG Shivdeep Lande was repatriated to Bihar, his position is also lying vacant. 

Rajkumar Shinde, an SP-rank officer, is holding charge of all four positions. In the latest transfers, he was reportedly transferred to the Anti Corruption Bureau however, he has not been relieved as there are hardly any senior officers in the unit. 

The Maharashtra ATS was formed following the 1998 Mumbai blasts. The agency has held a high ranking among the investigation agencies in the country with their investigations in bomb blasts cases and terror cases. 

The most recent cases that the Maharastra ATS probed was the Antilia terror cases which was later taken over by the NIA.