MUMBAI, July 10 -- The state government has transferred Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police commissioner Madhukar Pandey, a day after protesters led by the MNS and Shiv Sena (UBT) marched in large numbers through the streets of Mira Road, inflaming tensions amid the raging language row. Sources in the state home department said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was not happy with the local police for denying permission for the march after the organisers refused to alter their route, as instructed by the police. "There was no reason to deny permission when there is no culture of denying permission for any rightful protest. The leadership was upset as the police commissioner did not inform the home minister that he had denied permission, nor did he consult the director general of police," said a senior official from the home department. Pandey has been transferred as additional director general of police (administration) with the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), switching places with Niket Kaushik. Tuesday's march, led by the MNS and Sena (UBT), took place even though the MBVV police had refused permission and made preventive arrests. The rally, pushing the cause of the Marathi Manoos, was a reaction to a protest march by Mira Road's traders last week, after a local shop owner was slapped and punched by MNS workers for not speaking in Marathi. The MNS demanded an apology from the Mira Road trading community, populated largely by Gujaratis and Marwaris, accusing them of "disrespecting Marathi". MBVV police had told the MNS and Sena (UBT) they would permit the march if they would alter its route, as it was to pass by the sweet shop, whose owner the MNS had attacked on June 30. But the number of protesters swelled, and protesters, comprising party workers, leaders and locals, marched anyway, leaving the police overwhelmed. The two protest marches in Mira Road have taken place after the BJP-led Fadnavis government backed down on introducing Hindi as the third language in state primary schools. Pandey, an IPS officer, was appointed as commissioner of the MBVV police on December 14, 2022. The home department said Pandey has been transferred as he had completed his term. Incidentally, the police commissioners of Navi Mumbai and Thane have also completed their terms, but continue to occupy their posts. Neither Pandey nor Kaushik responded to calls and text messages from HT, for a comment....