The Konkan Range runs from the industrial fringe of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region
down the western coast to the Goa border. Within a single supervisory jurisdiction
it contains chemical and manufacturing belts, major ports, a long and sparsely
watched coastline, hill and forest interiors, seasonal pilgrimage and tourist
movement, and districts whose populations vary by an order of magnitude.
Those districts do not share a crime profile. Palghar and Thane Rural absorb
metropolitan spillover — property crime, labour disputes, rapid unplanned
construction. Raigad carries industrial risk and port traffic. Ratnagiri and
Sindhudurg are comparatively quiet for most of the year and then handle very large
visitor surges around festivals and the tourist season, on road networks not built
for them.
A range office therefore cannot govern by a single directive. Its work is
inspection, review of investigation quality, supervision of serious cases,
allocation of scarce specialist resources, discipline and establishment matters,
and ensuring that five separate district forces respond consistently to something
that crosses their boundaries.
It is also where an officer learns the difference between commanding a unit and
supervising commanders — a distinction that matters again, later, at
commissionerate level.
