Race for top post in Tamil Nadu police begins

The race for the top post in the Tamil Nadu Police has begun as Commissioner of Police and Commissioner of Police C. Shilendra Babu is scheduled to retire on June 30 this year.

Delhi DGP/Superintendent of Police Sanjay Arora heads the list of 12 IPS officers eligible for commuted sentences by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), police sources said. The state government will select her as one of her three officials who will be shortlisted by the UPSC.

Following Arora in terms of seniority are DGP BK Ravi and Chennai Police Commissioner Shankar Jewal. Other officers in the rank of DGP in the list will be AK Viswanathan, Abhash Kumar, TV Ravichandran, Seema Agrawal and Amaraesh Pujari. Considering the years of service required to be eligible for ordination, the list sent by the Home Ministry to the UPSC includes Mr. Rajeev Kumar, Mr. Sandeep Rai Rathore, Mr. Abhay Kumar Singh, Mr. K. Vannia. This includes Mr. Perumal, the official said.

Pramod Kumar and Rajesh Das from the same period in 1989 are also eligible in terms of years of service, but their names are not included because of the specific charges against them. P. Kandaswami, DGP/Director General, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Directorate, who also served in the same period in 1989, is not eligible as he is nearing retirement, the official said.

A police officer selected by the state government and appointed as DGP/Superintendent of Police will serve in the post for two years, irrespective of the date of retirement, as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh case. UPSC will conduct a 360-degree evaluation of the police officers before finalizing her three names. The decision will be taken at a meeting to be held in New Delhi, which will be attended by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, the Home Minister and other senior government officials.

Although the Home Ministry finalizes the list after considering the prescribed criteria for reduction of privileges, there are instances where the UPSC has taken decisions based on other opinions.

Among the top three police officers, Arora has been awarded the Chief Minister’s Medal of Bravery for bravery and heroic action for his role as Superintendent of the Special Task Force that shot dead forest robber Veerappan. He headed two important central armed police forces, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

Mr. Ravi and Mr. Jiwar have worked as agents of the federal government.