Rakesh Maria (Joint Commissioner of Police)
A 1981-batch IPS officer, Maria is the chief of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch which is investigating the 26/11 terror attacks. Son of a Bollywood producer and born and brought up in Bandra, Maria is one of the most charismatic and recognisable faces in the Mumbai Police. He has been immortalised in the film — based on former Indian Express correspondent S Hussain Zaidi’s book Black Friday — and is said to have inspired the character Ajay Lal in Suketu Mehta’s book Maximum City. Maria has an unparalleled track record in solving terror cases such as the 1993 serial blasts, the Zaveri Bazaar and Gateway of India blasts, and the recent terror strikes carried out by the Indian Mujahideen.

Rohini Salian
The former chief public prosecutor of the Sessions Court, Salian has been appointed the special public prosecutor in the highly-controversial September 29 Malegaon blast case. Originally hailing from Mangalore, Salian is the special public prosecutor in the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (POTA) courts. Salian has handled several important cases such as the Borivali double murders, diamond merchant and film financier Bharat Shah’s case, the J J shootout case, the Sara Sahara shopping complex case and the Ghatkopar and Mulund blast cases. Salian, who is also an accomplished painter, was initially an urban planner with the then Bombay Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, and joined the legal profession in 1982.

Devang Khakhar
From January 2009, Professor Devang Khakhar will take charge as the new director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB). He will replace Professor Ashok Misra who served the institute as its director from 2000-2008. As a Professor-in-Charge, Continuing Education Programme (CEP) from 2001-02, Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 2002-04, and dean of faculty affairs, Khakhar has been in the institute since 1987. Mentoring the two IITs in Indore and Gandhinagar, ensuring quality infrastructure, education and faculty even as the number of students increase after phase-wise implementation of reservation of OBC, SC and ST students etc are among other challenges that face the new director of IITB.

The new ATS Joint Commissioner of Police
After the loss of Hemant Karkare, the one post to be eagerly watched will be this, as everybody would like to know the name of the new chief of the state Anti-Terrorism Squad. With the 26/11 terror attacks as the backdrop, and with cities like Pune emerging as hotbeds for both Islamist and Hindu terror activities, the police machinery, the bureaucracy as well as the common man is keen to know who finally bags the department that handles the most sensitive terror files.

Jairaj Phatak (Municipal Commissioner)
After taking over the reins of municipal commissioner from Johny Joseph, the straight forward, no nonsense attitude of Phatak soon struck a chord with Mumbaites who believed that the senior bureaucrat would help them in their civic ordeals. Known as Mr Clean in the bureaucracy, Phatak’s characteristic “no frills” trait helped him mingle with the aam aadmi who could take their grievances to him and expect them to be addressed. Civic officials held him in high esteem for his unbiased and non-partisan views. However, his one drawback that ward off many citizens was his giving uncouth statements to the media. During the floods he had said: “If you cannot fight water, learn to live with it”. It only rubbed salt on the July-26 deluge wound.

Ravindra Waikar (Sena leader and standing committee chairman)
Waikar is responsible for a number of off-the-shoot beautification project— replica of Madame Tussads, London, London Eye, museum for the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement and a statue of the martyrs of the 1857 Revolt. Although the projects are not a necessity for Mumbai, if implemented (on Build operate, Own and Transfer basis), they can change the face of the city and give an edge to its Metropolis tag by offering some worthwhile sites to lakhs of tourists here. Widely respected in the Sena circle, Waikar also hopes to contest the 2009 Lok Sabha polls from his Jogeshwari constituency. Owing to the chairmanship of the standing committee, which controls finances of BMC’s Rs 16,000-crore budget, Waikar is one of the most powerful men in the civic corridors and has so far made all the right moves in the political circles.