The Mumbai Police has a history of corruption,
police brutality, refusal to file reports, aligning with political entities, professional incompetence, as well as moral policing. The department has also been criticized for overworking and underworking of personnel, especially the constable and Sub-Inspector rank officials. However, in recent times, while situations have been changing, they have not been effective enough and still fall well below international standards, due to the lack of reforms and amendments in the Bombay Police Act of 1951, which is mostly based on the beyond outdated and colonial
Police Act, 1861. The Mumbai Police has been long accused of taking bribes or in local lingo, 'hafta' from any person trying to run a business in lieu of turning a blind eye to various illegalities that the person is committing whether it is encroaching on public property or trying to get off the hook of a drug case. On 13 January 1982, dreaded gangster
Manya Surve was killed in a shootout with Inspector Raja Tambat and ACP Isaque Bagwan, who fired five bullets into his chest and shoulder. Surve's death became known as Mumbai's first recorded
encounter killing. The rate of encounter killings increased in the late 1980s and further rose after the
1993 Mumbai bombings; a total of 622 alleged criminals were killed in police encounters from 1982 to 2004. On
16 November 1991, the
Anti-Terrorism Squad, led by Additional Commissioner of Police
Aftab Ahmed Khan, laid siege on Lokhandwala Complex to capture gangster
Maya Dolas, and 6 others. Khan and his squad were criticized for firing 450 bullets which killed the gangsters, who refused to surrender. However, the ATS officers were exonerated following an inquiry. Right before the
1993 Bombay bombings, Gul Mohammad, a small-time criminal, confessed to his role in the 1992 riots, his training in Pakistan, and a conspiracy underway to bomb major locations around the city, including the
Bombay Stock Exchange,
Sahar International Airport and the
Shiv Sena Bhavan. However, his conspiracy claim was dismissed by the police as a "mere bluff". The
2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai have been ascribed to a large scale intelligence failure by Mumbai Police. The attack also exposed several other weaknesses, such as using antiquated weaponry from
World War II, poor marksmanship training, lack of a commando style force like the
SWAT in the United States, as well as bureaucratic inefficiency when coordinating with the
National Security Guard. Despite not having sophisticated weapons and body armor, the Mumbai Police was able to capture the lone gunman
Ajmal Kasab at a roadblock near Girgaum Chowpatty. Another gunman, Ismail Khan was killed the shootout. In 2003-04 Telgi scam also known as fake-stamp scam broke out in which Mumbai's police commissioner R.S. Sharma came to be arrested along with many other senior officers. Another former police commissioner of Mumbai police Sanjay Pande came to be arrested in stock-exchange scam involving tapping of telephone lines of investors. [https://www.news18.com/news/india/former-mumbai-cp-sanjay-pande-arrested-by-ed-5586541.html
Encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma came to be arrested in Antilia bomb scare case involving murder of Mansukh Hiren. Another encounter specialist
Daya Nayak absconded while anti-corruption bureau of Mumbai was seeking his custody. [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/daya-nayak-on-run-after-acb-files-case/articleshow/1380392.cms Nayak is now facing a criminal accusation of planting drugs upon some youngsters during his tenure with the Anti-terrorist Squad of Maharashtra Police. A reply filed by Director General of Police Housing Corporation (former Police Commissioner of Mumbai) Arup Patnaik has exposed land-grabbing offence by IASs, IPSs & Bombay High Court Judges wherein six prime plots of land reserved for service quarters of constabulary were usurped by private housing societies of the land-grabbing bureaucrats and judges of Bombay High Court. Three plots of land are located at Worli Sea Face while three are Western-Mumbai suburb Andheri west. This disclosure exposing the biggest organised land-grab operation by bureaucrats & judges was made by Director General of Police Housing Corporation Shri Arupji Patnaiksaheb in his reply to a Public Interest Litigation filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar. [https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/mumbai-hc-seeks-police-housing-board-s-reply-to-pil-114080101290_1.html In October 2019, it was reported that the non-gazette police officials, mostly the constable rank personnel, who are the lowest ranked and least paid, did not have decent housing, and many of them who were allotted an official accommodation were not satisfied with it due to poor quality and insufficient maintenance. Following complaints and dissatisfaction by the constables and their families, the
Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority began to redevelop police colonies to improve living conditions in 2023. On 13 March 2021, Senior Inspector
Sachin Vaze, an encounter specialist, was arrested for his involvement in the
Antilia bomb scare. Through an investigation, Vaze revealed that he was acting at the behest of
Anil Deshmukh, who was then minister of Home Affairs. Vaze was also involved in collecting extortion money in December 2020 from members of the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR). He would call from his office in the Commissioner of Police compound for monthly amounts and, if paid, would ensure that the Social Service Branch would not conduct raids.
Mid-Day reported that a source said, "SSB carried out raids at hotels and bars and filed cases against them. The last SSB raid was in early February. After that, no raid was conducted as everybody agreed to pay the money to be able to operate." Vaze was previously involved in the custodial torture and death of Khwaja Yunus in 2004, a suspect in the 2002
Ghatkopar bombing case. The Traffic Branch of Mumbai Police has faced criticism for hefty penalties on bicyclists for riding on
Bandra–Worli Sea Link, as well as for obstructing traffic on other roads due to slow speeds of riders. The fines for bicyclists riding on the Sea Link, as well as on the
Trans Harbour Link,
Eastern Freeway, the
Sahar Elevated Access Road, the BKC-Chunabhatti flyover, and the
Coastal Road is Rs 1200(US$15), which has been steeply set and does not conform to the standards of
Motor Vehicles Act due to non requirement of license, registration, insurance, and road tax; furthermore, refusal to pay and non-compliance has led to seizure of bicycles, detaining and assaulting of riders, deflating the tires, or towing away bicycles, which constitutes a misconduct by police personnel and violation of rights of those owning non-motorized/self-propelled vehicles. The penalties charged against bicyclists for riding on the prohibited areas as well as various other offenses under sections of the Motor Vehicles Act is unconstitutional and not authorized, as the Act is neither applicable to bicyclists, nor does it mandate any penalties against bicyclists. While penalties against motor vehicles such as two-wheelers, cars and heavy vehicles are mentioned for various offenses on Mumbai Police website as per the Motor Vehicles Act, they explicitly do not state any penalties against bicyclists for certain offenses. The Mumbai Police has also slammed for incidents of
moral policing, which have resulted in serious protests, as well as intervention of judiciary and senior officers - • In September 2000, the officials banned kissing in the Marine Drive area. They cited the Section 110 of Mumbai Police Act, 1951 which allows the police to interfere in "disorderly behaviour." The decree was later withdrawn after protests. • In 2012, Assistant Commissioner of Police
Vasant Dhoble carried out a series of raids on bars and clubs in and around Mumbai, claiming to rescue prostitutes. In one instance, he labelled four German women wrongly as sex workers in front of cameras when he arrested them on 30 March 2014 from the Voodoo pub. On 5 June 2012, Dhoble raided Masala Curry restaurant after he felt suspicious of women being allowed free entry. Two cousins who were picked up in the raid later filed a defamation case against Dhoble. Due to intense criticism from several civilians, lawyers and activists, and following pressure on the department with lawsuits, Dhoble was fired from the Social Service Branch and transferred. • On 6 August 2015,
Malwani police in
Mumbai, raided hotels and guest houses near
Aksa Beach and
Madh Island, and detained about 40 couples. Most of them were consenting couples in private rooms, but they were charged under Section 110 (Indecent behaviour in public) of the Bombay Police Act and fined . Only three cases were filed under
Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act. Due to protests and criticism, then Commissioner
Rakesh Maria order an investigation into the raids. Following a thorough investigation, Maria sent an order department wide not to use the Section 110 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951 as well as sections 292 to 294 of the
Indian Penal Code, which is an offense of Public Indecency to harass citizens and moral police them. • On 27 December 2015, a senior police inspector along with constable were caught moral policing and thrashing a youth, besides verbally abusing his female friend in Ulhasnagar. The act of moral policing was heavily criticized after a video of the thrashing went viral. • On 11 February 2024, 3 days before Valentines Day, several personnel from Mumbai police were accused of heckling and extorting money from the couples kissing or hugging in the gardens. Police personnel were keeping an eye on couples and harassed them if the couples were caught kissing or holding hands. The Mumbai Police has also faced condemnation from the judiciary,
National Human Rights Commission, leaders of opposition, besides the general public for taking actions on the orders of political leaders. Additionally, the department has faced criticism for inaction against political leaders for offensive statements and those who have serious criminal charges against them. - • On 18 November 2012, following the death of
Shiv Sena founder
Bal Thackeray, Mumbai Police, under the pressure of Shiv Sena workers and activists, arrested a 21-year-old woman who posted a Facebook comment against him, as well as her friend who "liked" the comment. The charges were subsequently dropped in January 2013, and in July 2014, the Government of Maharashtra was ordered to pay compensation of Rs 50,000 to each victim after the National Human Rights Commission noted that the detention was illegal and violated rights to freedom of speech and expression. • On 14 May 2022, Marathi television actress Ketaki Chitale was arrested by Mumbai Police for allegedly sharing an objectionable post about Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar. Chitale, who was molested, and her modesty was outraged by the NCP workers, and was later granted bail, was booked under IPC sections 500 (defamation), 501 (printing or engraving defamatory matter) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Indian Penal Code. • On 10 February 2025, the Mumbai Police issued summons and paid a visit to YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, popularly known as BeerBiceps, for offensive and vulgar remarks on an episode of
India's Got Latent, along with the host and comedian
Samay Raina, and social media influencers Ashish Chanchlani, Apoorva Mukhija and Jaspreet Singh. While Allahbadia faced severe public criticism and issued a public apology, the department faced backlash for swift action against the show hosts and judges, as several critics and public figures stated that such quick action is not taken against political leaders who make such offensive, vulgar, and insensitive comments, and that law enforcement and judiciary acts quickly against such events, but not against crimes as serious as rape. • On 31 March 2025, the Mumbai Police faced criticism by comedian
Kunal Kamra questioning the priorities of law enforcement, after some officers visited his old house following summons. Kamra posted on social media about the visit days after his video of his show calling Deputy Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde a traitor went viral. As a result of his comment, the club where he made the comment was vandalized by
Shiv Sena party workers. While Kamra faced charges under multiple sections of the
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including 353(1)(b), 353(2) (statements conducive to public mischief), and 356(2) (defamation), he refused to apologize for his comments. On 28 March 2025, he was granted interim anticipatory bail by the
Madras High Court, despite summons issued by the Mumbai Police and
Bombay High Court. == Reforms and Major Overhauls ==