Atulchandra Kulkarni new Maharashtra ATS chief

IPS officer Atulchandra Kulkarni on Thursday assumed charge as the new chief of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

Kulkarni, a 1990 batch IPS officer, served as Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) for last one year, and has replaced Vivek Phansalkar, who has been transferred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

The crime branch under Kulkarni detected several cases of murder and robbery besides putting a tight leash on activities of underworld in the city.

Apart from working as the city's crime branch chief, Kulkarni had worked in counter terrorism department. He began his career from Nanded district as an additional SP and worked in Jalgaon, Buldhana, Nagpur (anti naxalite operations), Bhandara and in Kosvo for UN mission.

In Mumbai, Kulkarni had worked as DCP (Zone 4) and DCP (Protection and Security). He worked in Intelligence Bureau (IB) during 2002-2003, where he was posted in Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi and Mumbai.