ECI picks Sanjay Verma as DGP for election span | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has picked the 1990-batch IPS officer Sanjay Verma as the new Maharashtra director general of police (DGP) to replace Rashmi Shukla after she was removed from the post on Monday.

According to orders issued by the home department, after Shukla was sent on compulsory leave on Monday, she had handed over the charge to Mumbai commissioner of police Vivek Phansalkar. On Tuesday, Verma took over the charge of DGP; he will hold office through the period of the assembly elections.

Verma is presently posted as director general (legal and technical) and in the past has headed the special investigation team (SIT) which conducted probe into the killing of communist leader and rationalist Govind Pansare in 2015.

ECI took its pick from a panel of IPS officers suggested by the chief secretary of Maharashtra, Sujata Saunik, after Shukla’s dismissal on Monday. Apart from Verma and Phansalkar, chief of home guard Ritesh Kumar featured on the list.

Over the last one week, ECI had fielded complaints against Shukla from the Congress and NCP (SP) on alleged phone tapping; it’s a controversy that had surrounded the 1988-batch IPS officer in the past as well. A few days ago, ECI had sent a warning to Shukla following similar complaints from Shiv Sena (UBT).

In a similar situation in 2009, then DGP A N Roy was asked to step away from election-related matters after allegations of favouritism had surfaced. At the time, another IPS officer S Chakravarthi was made DGP for election-related matters.