Who is Sanjay Kumar Verma? Meet Maharashtra’s new DGP replacing Rashmi Shukla ahead of Assembly elections

Sanjay Kumar Verma was appointed as Maharashtra's new Director General of Police (DGP) on Tuesday. He succeeded Rashmi Shukla, who was removed on a directive of the Election Commission of India (ECI), an official said.

Verma will take charge of the post from Mumbai Commissioner of Police Vivek Phansalkar, who was given additional charge as DGP on Monday.

Verma is a 1990-batch IPS officer and serving as Director General - Legal and Technical. He had headed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) which conducted a probe into the killing of communist leader and rationalist Govind Pansare in 2015.

Sanjay Kumar Verma is set to retire in April 2028, the official told news agency PTI.

His appointment as Maharashtra DGP came ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly Election. On Monday, the Election Commission of India had ordered that Rashmi Shukla be removed as the state police chief with immediate effect following complaints from opposition parties.

Rashmi Shukla was the first woman DGP of Maharashtra. Earlier, Mumbai police commissioner Vivek Phansalkar was on Monday given the additional charge of Maharashtra Director General of Police by the state government, an official said, hours after incumbent DGP Rashmi Shukla was transferred on Election Commission (EC) orders.

Why was Rashmi Shuka removed as Maharashtra DGP

Rashmi Shukla, a 1988-batch IPS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, faced allegations of illegally tapping phones of several Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders when she was serving as chief of the State Intelligence Department (SID). 

Three cases were registered in connection with alleged phone tapping and Shukla was named in two of them. However, in September 2023, the Bombay High Court quashed both the FIRs registered against her. The third case, which was with the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) for investigation, also did not reach at any conclusion and a closure report was submitted before the court.

The Congress had approached the Election Commission seeking Shukla’s transfer, citing her alleged role in tapping phones of opposition politicians. Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole asked the Election Commission of India on Thursday to remove DGP Rashmi Shukla in view of the November 20 assembly polls. 

In his letter to the Election Commission, Patole alleged Shukla was a controversial officer who had sided with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and her continuing in office would raise doubts about holding polls fairly and in a transparent manner.

The poll body on Monday directed the Maharashtra chief secretary to hand over Shukla's charge to the next senior-most IPS officer in the cadre. The chief secretary was also directed 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, the official said. During a recent review meeting, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar warned officials to not only be impartial and fair but also ensure that they are perceived as non-partisan while carrying out their duties.

(With inputs from PTI)