Senior IPS officer Deven Bharti, who is known to be close to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who heads the home department, officially took charge as Mumbai’s Commissioner of Police succeeding Vivek Phansalkar, who retired on Wednesday.

Speaking to the media after he took charge on Thursday, “My top priority is to ensure that the police reach every individual in the city. We will work to bridge the gap between the police and the common citizen. At the same time, we will remain highly vigilant about cybercrime.” He stressed on a combined approach of prevention and enforcement, noting that as digital device usage grows, so will its misuse, making cybercrime one of the most urgent challenges of modern policing”.

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He said the Mumbai Police have already begun integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its systems to monitor and track criminal activity more efficiently. “We are not just chasing criminals. We are using technology to stop crime before it happens,” Bharti said.

Bharti, who is a 1994 batch IPS officer, is one of the most experienced and respected officers in Maharashtra’s police force. His policing career began in the Naxalite-affected district of Gadchiroli, where he was first posted as Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP). Later, he served as SP in Gadchiroli, Amravati and Akola.

Bharti has served on deputation with the Intelligence Bureau, between 1998 and 2003, where he gained insights into national security and intelligence operations. In 2003, he was appointed as Deputy Commissioner of Mumbai Police, Special Branch 2, after which he became DCP (Detection) in the Crime Branch. Since then, Bharti has been based in Mumbai.

For nearly three decades, Bharti held some of the most important posts in Mumbai’s police hierarchy, namely Additional Commissioner of Crime, Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), as well as Joint CP in the Economic Offences Wing. Between 2015 and 2019, he held one of the longest stints as Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order).

He has also served as Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief and was managing director of the Maharashtra State Security Corporation during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s tenure, which had sidelined him. He has served as the Special Commissioner of Mumbai police since 2023.

Bharti played a crucial role in investigating the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and was among the officers entrusted with executing the capital punishment of convicted terrorist Ajmal Kasab.