Seasoned IPS officer Brijesh Singh, widely known as “Cyber Warrior” for his war on cyber crimes, has been appointed as the principal secretary to Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s office.
It is the first time in the recent past that a senior IPS officer has been appointed to the chief minister’s office (CMO). He is expected to take charge on Tuesday.
Singh’s name is said to have been finalised on the recommendation of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and is considered one of the most powerful IPS officers during Fadnavis’ tenure as the chief minister.
During his tenure, he headed the directorate general of information and public relations in Maharashtra but was later given a low-key posting as additional director general (home guards) under the Uddhav Thackeray government.
The 1996-batch IPS officer also held the additional charge of the cybercrime branch and directed reported to the chief secretary under the Fadnavis government.
The Maharashtra CMO is currently handled by additional chief secretary Bhushan Gagrani and principal secretary Vikas Kharge.
An unparalleled cybercrime expert, Singh has tackled several complex cases of cybercrimes and is a well-known expert in the domain. He has written several articles and delivered lectures on cybercrime awareness.
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Under him, the Maharashtra cyber digital crime unit (MCDCU), a government-industry anti-piracy collaboration, successfully took down over 400 pirate websites and issued critical advisories. He has also penned the thriller Quantum Siege for Penguin Books and co-authored ‘Dangerous Minds: Eight Riveting Profiles of Homegrown Terrorists’.
In the past, he oversaw the implementation of the MH Cyber Project, CERT-MH and the setting up of Predictive Policing units. He is also credited for modernisation projects like the Media and Social-Media Analysis Centre.
He also implemented the prestigious Crime and Criminal Tracking System for Maharashtra police, connecting all of its 1100 police stations with an advanced technology platform.
Under his leadership, 48 state-of-the-art district cyber labs have been set up, making Maharashtra the first state in the country to sanction 43 cyber police stations.
Singh has also led cyber capacity-building and public awareness projects in the state. He has also implemented the first Automated Multi-Modal Biometric Identification System (AMBIS) wherein IRIS, facial recognition, and finger and palm prints will be used to identify crimes in Maharashtra.