Bharti played a key role in securing the conviction and eventual hanging of Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist caputred alive during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Deven Bharti, a controversial yet highly influential officer, has been appointed Mumbai’s Police Commissioner, succeeding Vivek Phansalkar who retired after 35 years in service.
Bharti, a 1994-batch IPS officer, had been serving as the Special Commissioner of Police before his elevation to the post.
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He is considered a close associate of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. For his appointment, the state government has done away with a long-standing tradition.
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The Mumbai Police commissioner’s post typically held by a officer of Director General (DG) rank has been downgraded to Additional Director General (ADG) level to accomodate him. However, his promotion to the post of DG rank is also due in August this year.
The 56-year-old IPS officer is a native of Bihar’s Darbhanga. He is the eldest son of Prof. Bharti Srivastava, former Head of the Hindi Department at Lalit Narayan Mithila University, and Tripurari Sharan.
He completed his matriculation from Jharkhand and holds a masters degree from the Delhi School of Economics.
In his career spanning over three decades, Bharti has established his reputation a high profile and influential officer. During the intiial years in his career, he served in the Intelligence Bureau from 1998 to 2003.
He was Mumbai’s longest serving Joint Commissioner (Law and Order), holding the post from August 2015 untill his transfer in 2019.
He has also served as Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) and chief of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). He was also involved in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack investigation.
In fact, Bharti played a key role in securing the conviction and eventual hanging of Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist caputred alive during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Despite being in the good books of CM Fadnavis, Bharti has also been embroiled in several controversies. He was criticised for “staying away from action” during the terror attack by former Maharashtra DGP Hasan Gafoor.
In 2020, former Mumbai Police Chief Rakesh Maria, in his autobiography, alleged that Bharti had the knowledge of Sheena Bora’s disappearance. He, however, denied the allegations.
Later in 2021, he was accused of shileding a BJP leader’s wife in a passport fraud case. However, after the return of the Mahayuti government, he was given a clean in chit.
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