Mumbai, August 22 (IANS): Amid the raging controversy over the Badlapur sexual abuse case, the Maharashtra government on Thursday appointed 1989 batch IAS officer IS Chahal as the Additional Chief Secretary in the Home Department.

Former Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Chahal, who is currently serving as the Additional Chief Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), will take over from Sujata Saunik, the Chief Secretary who held additional charge of the Home Department also.

Chahal will also continue to hold additional charge of the Mining Department till further orders.

The latest appointment came amid growing criticism of the Home Department over a spate of sexual assault cases, particularly in the aftermath of the alleged sexual abuse of two 4-year-old girls by a sanitation worker at a private school in Badlapur in Thane district.

The government has already formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Badlapur case while reiterating that the culprit will be severely punished.

Chahal as the Additional Chief Secretary in the Home Department will report to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio.

Sources in the Mantralaya also claimed that Chahal is likely to be appointed as the Chief Secretary soon as the incumbent, Sujata Saunik, is expected to take over as the Maharashtra State Election Commissioner.

If Chahal becomes the Chief Secretary, he will remain in the post till January 2026 when he is scheduled to retire.

Before his appointment as the as the Additional Chief Secretary in the CMO in March this year, Chahal was serving as the BMC Commissioner. The state government shifted him from the BMC following a directive from the Election Commission of India in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

Chahal was appointed BMC Commissioner on May 8, 2020, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, replacing Praveen Pardeshi. He continued to hold the post even after the Uddhav Thackeray-led government collapsed, and Eknath Shinde took charge as Chief Minister in June 2022.