CHENNAI: In a significant development, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has cleared a panel of three senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers for the position of Director General of Police (DGP)  and head of the Tamil Nadu Police Force, sources said on Tuesday.

According to police sources, one of the three officers is likely to be appointed to the top post soon by chief minister C Joseph Vijay. 

The three officers on the panel are: DGP Rajeev Kumar, (1992 batch)  now posted as DGP training,  DGP Sandeep Rai Rathore,(1992 batch) now TN HoPF, posted by ECI before the assembly election and 1994 batch officer  DGP Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, now serving as special director general of police, BSF. 

Following the retirement of Shankar Jiwal on August 31, 2025, TN did not have a permanent head of the police force. Then the DMK government had appointed G Venkatraman as in-charge DGP a move criticised for bypassing Supreme Court norms. Ahead of the Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India appointed Sandeep Rai Rathore as HoPF in April 2026, replacing Venkatraman.