CHENNAI: Putting speculation to rest and ignoring the Opposition protest, Tamil Nadu Government on Friday appointed T.K. Rajendran as the DGP (Law and Order) for a full two-year tenure on the day of his retirement. The 1984-batch IPS officer, Mr Rajendran, as DGP (Intelligence) was holding additional charge of law and order since September 2016. Rajendran, who turned 60 two weeks ago, had held the post of Police Commissioner, Chennai. He had also served as ADGP law and order, IG south zone, ACP in Chennai and DIG-Tirunelveli besides serving in intelligence in various capacities.
Extension of his service and his elevation as DGP (Law&Order), which was expected to be a smooth process, was hit by roadblock in the form of diary entries of a gutka manufacturer who had recorded that he had bribed police officials in lakhs of rupees to conduct business in Chennai, where a ban on sale of such tobacco products exists.
The TN government had ordered a DVAC probe into the findings of income-tax department, which had handed over a detailed report on the gutka manufacturer's ledger notes. But a recent media leak of certain pages of the report had put officers including Rajendran, who had served in Chennai city police, on a sticky wicket. However, the government decided to keep faith in Rajendran and extend his tenure by two years.
Opposition Leader M.K. Stalin opposed Mr Rajendran's appointment and asked the Union Government to intervene in the issue. It may be noted that in November 2012, K.Ramanujam was appointed as DGP (Law&Order) in November 2012 for a two-year term. That was the first time any DGP got an assured term of two years in the state. Ramanujam was appointed as DGP three weeks before his retirement date, though he was DGP (in charge) since May 2011, when AIADMK came to power. Ashok Kumar, who was posted as DGP after the retirement of Ramanujam, was also expected to get a two-year term, but he had opted for VRS in September last year before completion of his tenure.
