IPS Sanjay Kumar Verma has been appointed as Maharashtra's new Director General of Police (DGP). Verma will take charge of the post from Mumbai Commissioner of Police Vivek Phansalkar, who was given additional charge as DGP on Monday. IPS Verma replaced Rashmi Shukla, who was removed on a directive of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday. Shukla was the first woman DGP of Maharashtra.
IPS Verma is currently serving as Director General—Legal and Technical. He is a 1990-batch IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre who will retire in April 2028. Verma had headed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) which conducted a probe into the killing of communist leader and rationalist Govind Pansare in 2015.
Verma heads the state Forensic Sciences Laboratories for crime detection and investigation. He is credited for upgrading the forensic infrastructure for the collection and preservation of evidence.
Ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly polls, EC on Monday ordered that Shukla be removed as the state police chief with immediate effect following complaints from opposition parties. The Congress had approached the EC seeking Shukla's transfer, citing her alleged role in tapping phones of opposition politicians.
EC on Monday directed the Maharashtra chief secretary to send a panel of three IPS officers by Tuesday afternoon for appointment as DGP. The ECI considered the panel and approved Verma's name and the state government appointed him as the DGP of Maharashtra, an official said.
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