Chennai top cop replaced in major rejig days after BSP leader’s killing

The commissioner of Chennai police was transferred on Monday in a major reshuffle among the top IPS officers in the state, three days after the Bahujan Samaj Party’s Tamil Nadu unit president K Armstrong was murdered in the city.

A Arun replaced Sandeep Rai Rathore as the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner on Monday morning, and promised to address issues including “rowdyism and corruption within the police”.

“My first work is to address Chennai’s present issues, specifically on law and order, prevention of crimes, disturbances in road traffic, controlling rowdyism and corruption within the police, connivance and katta panchayat,” the 1998 batch officer, who has served in several law and order, and traffic positions, said.

Arun held the post of additional director general of police (ADGP) law and order. He has been replaced by Davidson Devasirvatham.

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Rathore, meanwhile, has been posted as the director general of police (DGP) at the Police Training College, with the additional charge as the director of the Tamil Nadu Police Academy.

Rathore, a 1992 batch IPS officer, was appointed Chennai commissioner June 2023.

The changes come amid continued attacks by the opposition on the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government in the state over the law-and-order situation.

Arun, however, said that murders in the state have reduced since 2022. “I can’t comment on Armstrong’s case since I’ve just taken charge. I’ve to investigate it,” he said.

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Armstrong’s murder on July 5 further sharpened the opposition’s attack, with the BSP alleging that the real perpetrators have not been arrested so far. Armstrong was hacked to death on Friday evening by a group of men near his residence in Perambur, Chennai.

The Chennai police suspect the involvement of associates of gangster Arcot Suresh, who was murdered in August last year.

Eleven suspects have been arrested in connection with the case in the last three days. Preliminary investigation led by ADGP Asra Garg revealed that Armstrong was murdered in retaliation for the killing of gangster Arcot alias V Suresh last year.