Rakesh Maria is a former Mumbai police commissioner who once again is in the limelight after Rohit Shetty announced a biopic on his life. Rakesh took to his social media handles and shared a picture with Rakesh Maria and made the big announcement public.
In the caption of the post, Rohit briefly introduced Rakesh Maria to his fans by writing he is the man who has solved big cases like the 93 Mumbai blast, 29/11 attacks, and more.
The upcoming movie has already become the talk of the town, and Rohit has introduced Rakesh well. But what made Rohit decide to make a movie on his life? Who is Rakesh Maria and what makes him stand out?
How Was The Early Life Of Rakesh Maria?
Rakesh Maria is a Punjabi man who was born on 19 January 1957 in a Punjabi family that resided in Bandra, Mumbai. He graduated from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and to join the IPS cadre, he cleared the Union Public Service Commission.
Also, in his early years, he was closely connected to Bollywood. His father Vijay Madia, was the founder of Kala Niketan which produced movies like Kaajal, Preetam, Neel Kamal and more.
His surname, Madia, was distorted to Maria.
He is now married to Preeti Maria and is the father of two sons; Kunal Maria and Krish Maria.
What Were The Services Served By Rakesh Maria?
Rakesh Maria joined the 1981 batch of the Indian Police Service and was first appointed as an assistant superintendent of Police in Akola and Buldhana, Maharashtra.
He then became the traffic Deputy Commissioner Police (DCP) in 1993, followed by his appointment as Joint Commissioner of Police of Mumbai Police in 2014. He got promoted to the Director-General of Home Guards in 2015.
Rakesh Maria retired from his service on 31 January 2017.
What Are The Popular Cases Handled By Rakesh Maria?
Rakesh Maria during his service years handled and solved various big and prominent cases, but there were some which literally brought him in the limelight.
He investigated the popular Sheena Bora murder case and also the 26/11 Mumbai Attacks.
Especially in the 26/11 terrorist attack case, he was authorized to interrogate Ajmal Kasab, the only one out of ten terrorists captured alive.
Rakesh revealed a lot more details and secrets in his autobiography ‘Let Me Say It Now’.
Autobiography- Let Me Say It Now
Rohit Shetty also shared the picture of Rakesh’s autobiography in his movie announcement post. Rakesh Maria’s Let Me Say It Now was published in 2020.
Just like its title, there is a lot in the autobiography that Rakesh revealed.
He unveiled the conspiracy of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to project the 26/11 attack as an act of Hindu Terrorism.
He described the plan of ISI and Lashkar-e-Taiba in detail and quoted,
“Soon their hair was cut and beards shaved off, new clothes and shoes were purchased for them and they were given watches set to Indian time. The labels on their clothes were removed to prevent identification… New photographs were clicked to make fake identity cards to pass them off as Indian Hindus. To complete Hindu impersonation, they were instructed not to forget tying the red sacred thread around their wrists.”
“If all had gone well Ajmal Kasab, the only one of the ten terrorists to be caught alive] would have been dead with a red string tied around his wrist like a Hindu. We would have found an identity card on this person with the fictitious name Samir Dinesh Choudhari, student of Arunodaya Degree and P.G College.”
While Rakesh’s autobiography impressed many, it also triggered some politicians and ignited a controversy.
There is surely a lot more about him and his life which will be unveiled in his biopic. The fans are eager to get more updates on the same. Moreover, Meghna Gulzar also announced making a web series on the life of Rakesh Maria in 2018. Though there are no updates on the same, all the admirers of Maria are waiting to watch the reel version of his life.
