For the first time in the history of Mumbai Police, a post of Special Commissioner of Police has been introduced, with the Maharashtra government appointing senior IPS officer Deven Bharti as the first incumbent to the new assignment.
Bharti is considered close to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio.
Bharti is a 1994-batch Maharashtra-cadre officer who currently holds the rank of Additional Director General of Police.
In the past, he had served several important assignments including Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) in Mumbai, Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) in Mumbai, Chief of Anti-Terrorism Squad.
Senior IPS officer Vivek Phansalkar is currently the Mumbai Police Commissioner - and he has four Joint Commissioners of Police working under him looking after Law and Order, Administration, Crime, and Traffic.
The role of the Special Commissioner of Police is yet to be specified.
When Fadnavis was Chief Minister between 2014-19 and held the Home department, Bharti as Joint Commissioner of Police in Mumbai was considered one of the most powerful police officers in the state. Thereafter, he headed the ATS.
When the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi came to power, he was shunted out and made the Joint Managing Director of the Maharashtra State Security Corporation, considered to be a relatively insignificant posting.
Published 04 January 2023, 16:23 IST