Deven Bharti appointed commissioner of police | Mumbai news

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday appointed senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Deven Bharti, 56, as commissioner of police of Mumbai. The 1994 batch IPS officer took charge as the city’s police chief in the evening from incumbent Vivek Phansalkar, who retired after 35 years of service.

Bharti was joint commissioner of police (law and order) in Mumbai during Devendra Fadnavis’ first stint as chief minister. He is considered close to Fadnavis and has been appointed as police commissioner by superseding seven officers.

An officer of additional director general rank, he is due to retire in 2028. The police commissioner’s post has traditionally been occupied by officers of director general rank. The post has been downgraded to accommodate Bharti and it will be upgraded in August when he is likely to be promoted to director general rank.

A native of Darbhanga in Bihar, Bharti completed his early education in Jharkhand and his masters’ from Delhi School of Economics. He has worked in Mumbai as deputy commissioner of police in zone seven and in the crime branch and as additional commissioner of crime branch and joint commissioner (law and order). He also served as Inspector General of Police (law and order) in Maharashtra and headed the Anti-Terrorism Squad. He was transferred as additional director general (state security corporation) during the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s tenure.

Known for his investigative skills, Bharti has been a part of many high-profile cases, including the 26/11 attack in which 166 people were killed and the 2011 murder of journalist J Dey. He is credited with cracking down on homegrown terrorist outfit Indian Mujahideen, which was responsible for a string of bomb blasts in the country. He is also adept at tackling cyber and financial crimes.

Bharti was serving as Mumbai police special commissioner prior to his elevation. The post was created by the first Mahayuti government in 2023, after its attempts to give him a posting faced opposition from some quarters. The home department had then cited examples of other states like Delhi which had special commissioners to hand him the post. The state has not yet decided if the special commissioner’s post will be retained or scrapped, now that Bharti has been promoted as commissioner.

Meanwhile, the police commissioners of Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mira-Bhayander-Vasai-Virar have completed their terms and could be transferred in the coming days. Two officers of additional director general rank are also slated to be promoted to director general rank.

With inputs from PTI