Vivek Phansalkar, the 1989 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was on Wednesday appointed as the new Commissioner of Police (CP), Mumbai, by the Maharashtra government. Phansalkar will take over the reins of the city’s police force from Sanjay Pandey, who retires today.
Phansalkar earlier served as the Managing Director of the Maharashtra Police Housing and Welfare Corporation, a charge which will now rest with IPS officer Archana Tyagi.
A veteran of Mumbai and Thane postings, Phansalkar has also served as the Thane Police Commissioner. He was also posted as Joint Commissioner of Police (Administration) and Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), and it was during his tenure as the traffic police chief in 2013 that the department first used e-challans on a pilot basis. The idea was a runaway hit and is now an accepted form of penalisation for traffic rules violators in Mumbai.
Phansalkar went on to serve as Additional Director General of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad as well as ADG, Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau.
He is also known for playing a crucial role in ending communal riots in Thane in 2008, when he was posted as Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) in the city. In the initial years of his career, Phansalkar served as the ADC to former Governor Dr PC Alexander from 1993 to 1995.
