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

Verma, serving as Director General - Legal and Technical, is a 1990-batch IPS officer. He is set to retire in April 2028, the official said.

Ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, the ECI on Monday ordered that Shukla be removed as the state police chief with immediate effect following complaints from opposition parties.

Shukla was the first woman DGP of Maharashtra.

The Congress had approached the EC seeking Shukla’s transfer, citing her alleged role in tapping phones of opposition politicians.

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

Verma had headed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) which conducted a probe into the killing of communist leader and rationalist Govind Pansare in 2015.

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.

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