CHENNAI: It was a farewell sans the traditional party and parade. On Thursday, two senior IPS officers - DGPs R Nataraj, Director, Fire and Rescue Services, and G Thilagavathy, Chairman, Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board - quietly walked into the sunset after a long and eventful career in the state police force.
But Nataraj is emphatic: For those in public service, retirement is not the end. And for those in policing, particularly, it is a continuum, he says. “I do not know what the future holds for me, but I will continue to be in public service,” he told Express on Thursday. However, politics is no-no for him, at least for now. Looking back at his 36 years of service “with satisfaction”, Nataraj said he would pursue his passion for education and continue to read - and write for Dinamani.
A 1975-batch IPS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, Nataraj is credited with bringing reforms and innovations to the departments that he served in. As State prisons chief, he launched a bakery unit at the Central Prison in Puzhal, so that the inmates could gain immediate employment after their release. The bakery products labelled ‘freedom’ made their way to NGOs. He loosened restrictions, so that the prisoners could meet their families more often. “For the jail inmates, Nataraj was God,” says Henry Tiphagne, director of Madurai-based NGO, People’s Watch.
As STF chief in 2001, he tried to understand the problems of tribals, so that his commandos could win their support in the efforts to nab forest brigand Veerappan. In his last assignment, he was responsible for setting up fire brigades in schools to promote fire safety awareness among students.
A favourite with the media, there was palpable disappointment when he did not make it to the top post. But not one to take it lying down, Nataraj challenged Letika Saran’s appointment to the top post and found himself vindicated when the Madras High Court struck down her selection as State DGP. After her reappointment, he fired the second salvo, challenging her appointment again before the Central Administrative Tribunal, which is pending. “The fight is not over…I will continue the legal battle,” he says before signing off.
Thilagavathy created a niche for herself in the literary world, penning several novels and short stories starting with her first collection - Alai Puralum Karayoram. For her novel Kalmaram (Stone Tree), the 1976-batch IPS officer won the Sahitya Akademi award.
It is indeed a pity that a state police force, preoccupied with the coming assembly elections, could not give a befitting farewell to two of its illustrious members. The ceremonial parade and party has been postponed, sources said, as the officers and the ranks are engaged in poll duties. So, it was a quiet lunch that State DGP Bhola Nath hosted for his batchmate Thilagavathy on Thursday. Nataraj, a believer in tradition and setting up healthy precedents, would rather wait.