Mumbai Police Commissioner Ahmad Javed on Tuesday sidestepped questions on the high-profile Sheena Bora murder case, which was being personally supervised by his predecessor Rakesh Maria, and instead sought to outline his priorities at his first full-fledged press conference.
Addressing reporters at the police headquarters seven days after taking over from Rakesh Maria, Javed also said that no police personnel would be allowed to cross the 'Laxman Rekha' in the name of moral policing.
However, he avoided replying to queries as to the progress in the sensational case in which Indrani Mukerjea, the wife of media baron Peter Mukerjea, has been arrested along with two others on charges of murdering Sheena, her daughter from an earlier marriage, and disposing of the body in a Raigad forest in April, 2012.
"No individual case will be discussed today," was Javed's terse response when asked about the latest developments in the murder case.
Instead, the new commissioner said that his focus was on maintaining law and order in the metropolis, especially during festivals like Ganeshotsav and Bakr-Id.
"We have been conducting rounds of talks with the representatives of all communities in the city and are doing every bit to keep the spirit of the city intact during the upcoming festivals," he said.
Spelling out police's stand on the issue of moral policing, he said, "We are here to perform our job very professionally. Moral policing is not our job. Rather our job is professional policing and enforcing prescribed laws."
Javed, who has already averred that ensuring adequate safety and security for women was a priority, said police may come up with a mobile application to help those in distress.
"We are looking into the possibility of launching a mobile application that can run on even basic phone and preferably by pressing one button," the IPS officer said, adding that the police department would also look into the possibility of merging such apps into one.
Asked whether he would carry forward the night life culture in the city as advocated by his predecessor Maria, he said, "It would be premature to say anything on this issue, because there are so many stakeholders involved.
"And, before commenting on such issues, I should check that all stakeholders are unanimous over this issue."
After Maria was earlier this month shunted out as the Mumbai police commissioner, he had received an official communication from Maharashtra government asking him to supervise the investigation into the Sheena Bora murder case.
