CHENNAI: There are five seniors in the pool of officers, who could be appointed the head of the State police. This list will be sent to the UPSC, which will forward it to the Home Ministry where the final decision will be taken.
There is one among them who has two more years left – the minimum tenure that should be given to the officer appointed in the place regardless of superannuation. Former DGP Ashok Kumar was given an extension to meet the requirement, but he opted for voluntary retirement mid-way – the first head of Tamil Nadu police to do so.
The senior-most among these is Archana Ramasundaram, the 1980 batch officer who has one year left. But Archana is now the Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB); sources said she was not interested in returning to State police.
The second in line is K Radhakrishnan (58), a 1983 batch officer currently working as DGP Civil Supplies CID, who has 10 months left before superannuation.
K P Mahendran (59), a 1983 batch officer, currently posted as the DGP heading the Police Training Academy, follows Radhakrishnan. He has 10 more months left for retirement. Next is K Radhakrishnan (58) from the 1984 batch, now working as DGP Civil Supplies CID. He has two more years left.
The new commissioner of Chennai police, S George, is the next in terms of seniority. The 59-year-old from the 1984 batch has one year left in the service. DGP (Intel) TK Rajendran, who is now holding full additional responsibility as the DGP (L&O) is also among the list. He belongs to the 1984 batch, and has about nine months left.
For several years, it was the State governments that appointed the head of police force. However, after the guidelines on police reforms issued by the Supreme Court while considering the case known as the Prakash Singh vs Union of India in 2006, the State governments have to draw up a list that is sent to the UPSC. The selection committee will consider the names and send its recommendation.
Former DGP Ramanujam was the first officer who was ensured the two-year tenure in Tamil Nadu. He continued in the post from November 2012 to November 2014, following which Ashok Kumar was appointed as the DG. He was on extension since June 2015, before opting for voluntary retirement on Tuesday. His request was granted by yesterday afternoon. Sources added that the chief secretary and home secretary will leave for Delhi in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Ashok Kumar told
Express that he was looking forward to returning to teaching, a profession that he dabbled in before joining the police with the 1982 batch.