4 min readMumbaiJun 29, 2026 07:19 AM IST
A couple of weeks ago, senior Maharashtra police officer Vishwas Nangre Patil received a call from the state’s Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Vikas Kharge. Kharge, Patil wrote on social media, was touring the economically backward Nandurbar district when he saw a young student reading the IPS officer’s book, Mann mein hai vishwas (In my heart, I believe). The senior bureaucrat promptly handed over the phone to the youngster, who received a quick pep talk from Patil.
Patil’s social media accounts are full of such interactions in which he is seen encouraging youngsters and exhorting them to work hard. However, days after he took charge as the Commissioner of Police in Nagpur, where the headquarters of the RSS is located, Patil is in the middle of a raging political storm in Maharashtra.
In a 45-second video clip that quickly went viral online after his appointment, the 1997-batch IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre is seen addressing a public meeting of the Sakal Hindu Samaj (SHS), a loose conglomeration of Hindu outfits such as the VHP, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, Hindu Pratisthan, and Durga Vahini. In it, Patil praises the Sangh and describes its founder Dr K B Hedgewar as a “farsighted nationalist”. In late 2022 and early 2023, the SHS had sparked a political storm over its public meetings against “religious conversions” and “love jihad”, facing multiple FIRs as a result over alleged hate speech.
As the video started to do the rounds on social media, the Opposition targeted the BJP-led Maharashtra government and Patil, questioning the neutrality of the civil services.
The Congress sought a probe into the speech and posted, “Forgot the oath of the Constitution and the khaki uniform, they’ve shown up at the Sangh’s doorstep singing praises. On one side, taking the oath of the Constitution, shouldering the responsibility of the people’s security, and on the other side, openly praising the RSS … What kind of dutiful IPS officer is this?”
On Saturday, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray waded into the row, telling Nangre-Patil, “If you have an affinity for the Sangh, keep it to yourself; or if you wish to speak publicly, resign from service and join the Sangh or the BJP.” He also took aim at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, asking him if a police officer’s “dual loyalty” was acceptable to him.
“We were all under the impression that the khaki colour of Nangre Patil’s uniform belonged to the police force; we have only now realised that the colour belongs to the Sangh’s former khaki,” Thackeray added.
Decorated career
Story continues below this ad
Patil is a decorated officer who has served in important posts throughout his career of over two decades. During the 26/11 terror attacks, he was the Deputy Commissioner of Mumbai City’s Zone 1 and took on the terrorists who had entered the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.
Known to be in the good books of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Patil served as the Joint Commissioner (Law and Order) of Mumbai when the Maha Vikas Aghadi government of the Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress was in power. He was heading the state Anti-Corruption Bureau when he received his transfer order to Nagpur last week.
While the officer has not responded to the Opposition’s criticism, those close to him said other government officials and religious leaders had also attended the event. The full video of the speech would show that Patil advocated for peace and spoke against hatred, they added. Defending his secular credentials, the sources close to Patil said he had attended iftar parties as well during Ramzan.