KOCHI: In the latest reshuffle of senior officers of the state police force, Ernakulam district has seen new faces appointed to key positions. Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar, who was inspector general (IG) of traffic and road safety management, has been appointed the new Kochi commissioner. He was named in the wake of Harishankar being appointed DIG of the Armed Police Battalion after he sought leave, instead of assuming charge as Kochi commissioner, following the rejig announced on December 31, 2025.
The former Kozhikode commissioner, Kaliraj, a 2005-batch IPS officer of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre, was injured in a terrorist attack while on duty in his home state and was transferred to the Tamil Nadu Police before joining the Kerala cadre. With his appointment, an officer of IG rank has once again taken charge as Kochi commissioner, after A Akbar and S Syamsundar.
Railway superintendent K S Shahansha has been posted as deputy commissioner of Kochi city, replacing Juvvanapudi Mahesh, who has been named Thiruvananthapuram Rural district chief.
K S Sudarshan, the former Thiruvananthapuram Rural district chief and one-time Kochi deputy commissioner, has been appointed the new Ernakulam district chief.
Widely regarded as an unsung hero of Kochi city policing, Sudarshan is known for his innovative contributions to law enforcement, ranging from geo-tagging criminals to cracking down on drug gangs. He assumes charge after leading investigations into several sensational cases, including a mass murder in which a youth killed five members of a family in Thiruvananthapuram.