Nailing his role as Mumbai Police Commissioner, Datta Padsalgikar to now work with Ajit Doval as Deputy NSA

New Delhi, October 31: Roping in new faces and fresh and innovative minds, India’s bureaucracy has changed in the past years. Making it more robust, flexible, and thoughtful, the changes seek to take up new challenges accomplishing it completely. Likewise, after nailing his role as an ideal Mumbai Police Commissioner, Datta Padsalgikar is all set to take in charge as the new Deputy National Security Advisor. The retired IPS officer also had two stints with the Intelligence Bureau (IB), gaining 17 years of experience with the central intelligence agency.

Padsalgikar was appointed Mumbai Police Commissioner in January 2016 and is credited with ushering the police force into the digital age. He introduced an online system where bio-profiles of police personnel could be accessed at the click of a mouse, he digitised the daily police notice, which used to be circulated in printed format, and launched a messaging app to enable internal communication for the personnel.

After serving for two years as the Mumbai police chief, Datta Padsalgikar was promoted as DGP in July 2018, with Subodh Kumar Jaiswal replacing him as Mumbai Police Commissioner. After his retirement, he was appointed the deputy Lokayukta of Maharashtra.

A 1982 batch IPS officer hailing from a town on the Solapur-Bijapur border, Padsalgikar holds a Master’s degree in French literature from Pune. After serving initial postings as Additional Superintendent of Police in Nagpur, Karad and Nashik, he was promoted and went on to serve as Superintendent of Police in Osmanabad and Satara, following which he served his first stint in the IB in the early 90s.

He served in a variety of postings, including Joint Director, IB, Mumbai, and a three-year deputation to Washington. Officers who have served with him say he unfailingly puts his subordinates before himself, giving all the credit to those who actually do the work at the ground level. He also enjoys a reputation of being a clean, non-controversial officer who has neither asked for a particular posting nor has ever refused one.