CHENNAI: Former Greater Chennai Police (GCP) commissioner A Arun was on Monday appointed Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) and director of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), a posting that has already drawn attention in political circles given the allegations levelled against him by the ruling TVK during their poll campaign.
The state government also posted Maheshwar Dayal as ADGP (Administration), Chennai, and T S Anbu as ADGP (Law and Order), Chennai. Notably, the positions assigned to Arun and Dayal were downgraded from vacant Director General of Police-rank posts.
Arun’s appointment assumes significance as senior TVK functionaries had repeatedly accused the then Chennai police commissioner of bias and of obstructing the party’s campaign activities by denying permissions and creating administrative hurdles. He has also been viewed in political circles as being close to the DMK.
During the election period, Arun headed the Greater Chennai Police and was subsequently placed on compulsory wait by the Election Commission of India while the Model Code of Conduct was in force.
The move followed representations submitted by TVK to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik seeking the transfer of Arun and several other officials on allegations of favouring the DMK.
TVK had also raised concerns over security arrangements during actor-politician Vijay’s campaign events after he filed his nomination from Perambur constituency. The party cancelled one of his scheduled campaign programmes in Villivakkam citing swelling crowds and inadequate security deployment.
At the time, TVK General Secretary (Election Campaign Management) Aadhav Arjuna alleged that there had been an attempt to recreate the “Karur tragedy” in Chennai with the intention of disrupting Vijay’s campaign.
Arun was appointed Chennai Police Commissioner in July 2024 following the murder of BSP Tamil Nadu chief K Armstrong, an incident that triggered major administrative changes in the city police. Before that, he had served as ADGP (Law and Order).
Soon after assuming office, he had faced criticism over remarks that police would “speak to criminals in the language they understand”, prompting the State Human Rights Commission to seek an explanation.
