DGP Venkatraman appointed in-charge chief of Tamil Nadu police

CHENNAI: The State government on Sunday posted senior IPS officer G Venkataraman as in-charge for the post of Director General of Police/Head of Police Force after DGP Shankar Jiwal retired on August 29.

On Sunday afternoon, Jiwal officially handed over the charge to DGP Venkataraman at a ceremony at the State police headquarters. However, the officers who supersede Venkataraman in the seniority list were notably absent at the handing-over event.

A 1994 batch IPS officer, Venkataraman was heading the Administration wing of the State police. He has served as SP in Perambalur and Salem, Deputy Commissioner (law and order) in Madurai City and also had a stint with the CBI as a SP.

As DIG, he had served in Salem range and in CB-CID, as IG in the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, and as Additional Director General of Police of the cybercrime wing and also CB-CID.

"Tamil Nadu Police Force has a glorious history and has been consistently performing as the best police force in the country. Under the leadership and direction of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and the force will continue to strive to better its performance in the coming days," an official statement from the police headquarters said.

The government also appointed DGP Vinit Dev Wankhade as the chairman and managing director of Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation Limited, Chennai, which was held by DGP Shailesh Kumar Yadav, who retired along with Jiwal.

Jiwal had an illustrious final lap in his 35-year-long police career, during which he occupied the coveted post of Chennai city police Commissioner and then as the head of the State police force, and will now assume charge as the first chairman of the newly constituted Fire Commission.