CHENNAI: The government on Thursday shunted out two senior IPS officers — DGP-rank officer S Davidson Devasirvatham (1995 batch) and IGP-rank officer Dr KA Senthil Velan (2003 batch). The two officers were placed on compulsory wait by the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of the Assembly election over allegations of proximity to the DMK government. The transfers are part of the new government’s overhaul of the intelligence wing.
S Davidson Devasirvatham has been posted as DGP and Chief Vigilance Officer of the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers Federation (TMCMPF). He replaces Rajeev Kumar, who has been transferred as DGP, Training, Oonamancherry. Dr KA Senthil Velan (2003 batch) has now been posted as Additional Director of the TN Police Academy.
DGP (Intelligence) B Bala Naga Devi has been posted as DGP, Cyber Crime Wing. She had earlier been appointed as DGP (Intelligence) following directions from the ECI ahead of the polls.
DIG of Police, Vellore Range, G Dharmarajan, has been posted as DIG, Intelligence (Security), Chennai, while DIG and Joint Commissioner of Police (South), Greater Chennai Police, Pakerla Cephas Kalyan, has been appointed DIG, Intelligence (Internal Security). DIG of Police, Tirunelveli Range, P Saravanan, has been posted as DIG, CID Intelligence, Chennai.
Among the SP-rank officers transferred, Thiruvarur SP Garad Karun Uddhavrao has been posted as SP, Organised Crime Intelligence Unit, Chennai. Tenkasi SP A Myilvaganan has been appointed SP-I, Special Branch CID, while Thoothukudi SP Dr C Madhan has been posted as SP-I, Security Branch CID, Chennai.
Further, K Shanmugam, SP, Q Branch CID, Chennai, has been transferred as SP-II, Special Branch CID, while G S Madhavan, SP, Metro Zone, Crime Branch CID, Chennai, has been posted as SP-II, Security Branch CID. N Silambarasan, SP and Assistant Inspector General of Police (Law and Order), Chennai, has been appointed SP, Special Division, Special Branch CID, Chennai.
Davidson was serving as DGP (DVAC), while also holding additional charge of DGP Armed Police, when ECI removed him from election duties on April 8. Under the previous DMK regime, he held a series of sensitive postings, including ADGP Intelligence, ADGP Law and Order, and DGP DVAC. He was briefly shifted to ADGP Headquarters in June 2023 over allegations linked to a passport scam during his stint as Madurai police commissioner, but was brought back to a sensitive posting about a year later after the state government told the HC that nothing was found against him.
As ADGP Law and Order, Davidson supervised the police response to the 2025 stampede at a TVK rally in Karur that claimed 41 lives. He defended the police handling of the incident and blamed TVK organisers for the tragedy. The CBI, which later took over the probe, had questioned him in connection with the case.