CHENNAI: Senior IPS officer G Venkataraman on Sunday was appointed as the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) and Head of Police Force (HoPF) in-charge, following the superannuation of incumbent DGP Shankar Jiwal, who was posted as the chairman of a newly-formed state fire commission. Venkataraman was serving as the DGP of the administrative wing of the state police.
The handover of charge ceremony took place at the DGP office in Chennai on Sunday when the Home department issued orders for the posting. Seema Agarawal, Rajeev Kumar, Sandeep Rai Rathore, Vannia Perumal, Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, Sanjay Mathur, Vinit Dev Wankhade, Pramod Kumar and Abhay Kumar Singh, whose names were submitted to the UPSC for consideration for the DGP post, were absent from the event.
While Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal and Sanjay Mathur are currently under central government deputation, Vinit Dev Wankhade was to take charge as DGP/Chairman and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation Limited, replacing Shailesh Kumar Yadav, who retired on Sunday.
Venkataraman, a 1994 batch officer, served as Superintendent of Police in Perambalur and Salem districts, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) in Madurai City, and SP in the CBI. He was also posted as Deputy Inspector General in Salem Range and CB-CID.
‘DMK chose political expediency over rule of law’
Venkataraman has served as Inspector General in Vigilance and Anti-corruption, and Assistant DGP in the Cyber Crime Wing and CB-CID. He has also held various administrative positions within the DGP’s office, such as IGP, ADGP, and DGP administration.
Outgoing DGP Jiwal has served in various capacities, including as SP in Salem and Madurai, DCP in Madurai city, and Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau, Chennai. After central deputation, he took charge as Commissioner of Police (CoP), Tiruchy city, and later worked as DIG, Intelligence.
As IGP, he oversaw Internal Security, Intelligence, and headed the Special Task Force (STF). He went on to serve as CoP, Greater Chennai Police, for two years before retiring as DGP/HoPF, having led the state police for over two years.
According to police sources, the state government had sent a panel of eligible officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) two days ago. The commission will shortlist names from this panel and recommend them for consideration in the appointment of the next HoPF.
Meanwhile, referring to the Supreme Court order that bars states from appointing “acting” DGPs and mandate filling the post only from a UPSC-approved panel, former BJP state president K Annamalai, in a statement on Sunday, accused the DMK government of violating the apex court’s guidelines, and politicising the police force.
Calling the DMK a “patchwork model government,” he said the ruling party was well aware of HoPF Shankar Jiwal’s retirement date but chose “political expediency over the rule of law”. “This appointment is an abuse of power and openly disregards the regulations laid down by the apex court. It will not go unchallenged for long. This drama of misuse and arrogance will soon come to an end,” he said.
Later, speaking to reporters in Coimbatore, he asked why the government had bypassed six senior officers eligible for the top post, and said the concept of an acting-DGP itself is illegal and not seen elsewhere in the country. “Overlooking qualified officers, they appointed someone ranked ninth on the list as acting DGP because those higher on the list were not supportive of DMK,” he alleged.