In a significant step towards strengthening intelligence gathering, the Maharashtra government has created a new post of Joint Commissioner of Police (Intelligence) in Mumbai. This marks the sixth Joint Commissioner rank officer in the city police force. Aarti Singh, a 2006-batch IPS officer, has been appointed to the newly established position.
The move comes in the wake of the recent terror attack in Pahalgam and rising concerns over sleeper cells operating in the region. The newly created post is aimed at enhancing surveillance and intelligence coordination, especially in view of growing national security threats.
Hailing from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, Aarti Singh holds an MBBS degree and has previously served as Special Inspector General of Police. Until now, Mumbai Police had five JCPs heading Law and Order, Crime, Administration, Economic Offences, and Traffic. With the addition of the Intelligence department, it has now become the sixth key vertical in the force.
Notably, the Special Commissioner of Police post has been abolished. Earlier, all five Joint CPs reported to the Special CP, but going forward, the Special Branch — the core intelligence-gathering unit — will report directly to the Mumbai Police Commissioner. Previously, it functioned under the Joint Commissioner (Law and Order).
According to sources, there was initial resistance to the creation of the new post. However, escalating Indo-Pak tensions and directives from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to intensify monitoring of sleeper cells helped push the proposal through. Given Mumbai’s history of terror incidents, the government sees this as a necessary move to boost the city’s internal security network.