The Maharashtra government has appointed Deven Bharti, an IPS officer of the 1994 batch, as the police commissioner of Mumbai. The current police commissioner, Vivek Phansalkar, retired on Wednesday.
Bharti was a special commissioner of the Mumbai police. Bharti will be promoted to the director general rank in August. He is scheduled to retire in 2028.
Bharti, 56, is an officer trusted highly by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. He had worked as joint commissioner (law and order) in the first stint of Devendra Fadnavis as CM.
For over a decade and half, the post of the Mumbai Police commissioner was occupied by an officer of the director general rank. Bharti is an IPS officer of the additional director general rank.
Maharashtra has downgraded the post of Mumbai Police commissioner for Bharti so that it can be taken over by an officer of ADG rank.
More about Deven Bharti
Bharti hails from Bihar’s Darbhanga and has done a master’s from the Delhi School of Economics. He did his matriculation in Jharkhand.
He worked in Mumbai as DCP in Zone 7 and also as the DCP in Crime Branch. He worked as additional commissioner of crime branch and was the joint commissioner (law and order) when the BJP ruled the state.
He was also the inspector general of police (law and order) in the state and also headed the ATS.
When the Maha Vikas Aghadi government came, it transferred him to the state security corporation as additional DG.
Bharti faced inquiries and offences during the MVA rule. However, these were cleared recently.
Fadnavis, who heads the Home portfolio, created a post of special commissioner. The Eknath Shinde–Devendra Fadnavis wanted to give him a posting in December, but there was opposition from some quarters.
Finally, the home department cited examples of other states such as Delhi which had special commissioners.
Sources in the police said creating a new post can create differences in the police force between the commissioner and the special commissioner unless the government clearly defines roles.
The state has not made up its mind whether to keep the special commissioner post or scrap it.
