Senior IPS officer Deven Bharti has been appointed the new commissioner of Mumbai police.
Bharti will take charge as the city’s top cop on Wednesday evening from incumbent Vivek Phansalkar, who is retiring after serving the force for 35 years.
While the state home department issued an order concerning Bharti’s appointment, it has downgraded the post to the rank of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), an official said.
The coveted post of Mumbai police commissioner has traditionally been of the ADGP rank, but it had been upgraded to the DG rank in a few recent postings.
Who is Deven Bharti?
A 1994-batch IPS (Indian Police Service) officer, Bharti is currently the special commissioner of the Mumbai police.
Before that, he had served the 50,000-strong police force in the metropolis in various capacities, including as joint commissioner of police (law and order), additional commissioner of police (crime), and deputy commissioner of police (crime).
In his long career, he has also headed the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), besides serving as the inspector general of police (law and order ) in the state police headquarters.
Before being assigned to the Mumbai police, Bharti had also served on central deputation. Known for his investigative skills, Bharti has been a part of many high-profile cases, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people were killed.
As joint commissioner of police under the then-Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP-Shiv Sena government, Bharti oversaw the functioning of the over 90 stations in Mumbai. He was then counted among the most powerful police officers in Maharashtra.
However, under the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA regime, Bharti was put in charge of the Maharashtra State Security Corporation (MSSC).
A senior Maharashtra police official told India Today that Bharti knew the city and its underworld well. "He has a superb network in the underworld," he said
Former Mumbai Police commissioner Sanjay Pandey, in an inquiry report, alleged that Bharti had connections with criminals linked to gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
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