Chennai: Speculation gave way to confusion on Thursday as to whether DGP (in-charge) T.K. Rajendran would get an extension as he retires on Friday. Or would someone succeed him as the police chief of Tamil Nadu?
There was no clarity on who would be the next DGP till late Thursday night even as Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan held extensive consultations with officials from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on the issue.
Ms Girija is understood to have discussed possible names for the new DGP as a panel of three names of the most senior police officials should be submitted before appointing the top cop.
The names of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) chief Archana Ramasundaram, the 1980-batch IPS officer who was suspended by the then chief minister J. Jayalalithaa during her 2011-2016 tenure, K.P. Maghendran and K. Radhakrishnan have been doing the rounds for the top post. The names of S.R. Jangid and J.K. Tripathi, who were promoted recently to the rank of DGP, are also doing the rounds in political and police circles.
If the State government does not want to stoke any controversy and go by the rule book, it could select either Ms Archana or Mr Maghendran since they are the senior-most IPS officers from the state besides former Chennai Police Commissioner S.George, who is now caught up in the gutka row.
The appointment of the next DGP is being watched closely in political circles since the Opposition parties, especially DMK, want Mr George and Mr Rajendran to be sacked for their alleged role in allowing sale of gutka in the state despite the national ban.
Mr Rajendran, the current DGP (Intelligence) who holds law and order as additional charge, will hang up his boots on Friday as he is to be superannuatied.
However, there is speculation he might get an extension.
