Mumbai, Apr 30 (PTI) New Mumbai police commissioner Deven Bharti is credited with dismantling terror modules linked to Indian Mujahideen, a homegrown outfit, and cracking down on underworld elements besides being a part of probe into the 26/11 attacks during his high-profile career.
Admired for his meticulous investigating skills and dedication towards the force, Bharti (56), who took charge of his new post on Wednesday evening, brings a wealth of experience with him as he occupies one of the most coveted, and also challenging, jobs in the country’s security establishment.
The 1994-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer was serving as the special commissioner of the Mumbai police, a new post created in 2023, before his elevation as the chief of the 50,000-strong force in the country’s financial capital.
It was in October 2008 when a Mumbai police crime branch team consisting of a handful of officials landed in Mangaluru, Karnataka, in their hunt for key Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives Yasin Bhatkal and Riyaz Bhatkal.
As there was a delay in obtaining support from local police for their mission, an officer in the team contacted Bharti, then-Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) in Mumbai, and discussed the issue.
Wasting no time, Bharti, along with two more officers, landed in the coastal city the same day and obtained help from the Mangaluru police. Armed with an AK-47 rifle, Bharti, along with his team, entered a house from where police recovered four hand grenades and apprehended four IM members.
It was due to Bharti’s intervention that the Karnataka police provided more than 120 of its personnel, vehicles, and bulletproof jackets to the Mumbai crime branch team in their mission to track and smash IM-linked terror modules.
During his three decades-old career, Bharti had been known for launching crackdowns not only on underworld elements, but also the network of IM, an outfit involved in a series of bomb blasts across the country, including Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Among the four IM operatives arrested from Mangaluru under Bharti’s watch, two were later sentenced to death by a court in a terror case related to the bomb attacks in Surat.
Bharti was also responsible for the detection of many high-profile cases, including 26/11, the murder of journalist J Dey, the Farid Tanasha case, the Chhote Miya murder case and the Asif Dadhi case.
While investigating the 26/11 attacks, Bharti, along with Senior Police Inspectors Arun Chavan and Dinesh Kadam, went to the USA, where they worked for 10 days to gather evidence against Pakistan’s role in the November 2008 strikes.
Bharti, along with his team, was at the hotel Taj Mahal Palace in south Mumbai during the 26/11 attacks and was guiding NSG teams conducting operations against terrorists holed up there.
As Inspector General of Police (Law and Order), Bharti was also part of the team that was involved in the execution of 26/11 convict Mohammed Ajmal Kasab.
After becoming Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), one of his longest stints in the Mumbai police, he gave powers to local police stations. He also worked on tackling cyber and financial crimes.
However, Bharti has had his own share of controversies during his long stint in the police service.
Former Mumbai Police commissioner Sanjay Pandey, in an inquiry report, had alleged that Bharti had connections with criminals linked to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his network.
However, the report, based on claims by a convicted criminal, was rejected by the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government after it came to power in 2022 following the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) regime.
Bharti found himself in another controversy after an FIR was filed against him for not registering a case against BJP leader Hyder Azam’s wife for allegedly producing fake documents for her passport.
This also happened during the MVA regime (November 2019-June 2022). However, the IPS officer’s name was not mentioned in the chargesheet filed in the case.
The new Mumbai police commissioner is an avid reader and is active on social media. Bharti has a collection of Hindi, English and Marathi books and often posts quotes and couplets of well-known poets on his social media handle. PTI DC VT RSY
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