Following demands from Opposition parties for the transfer of IAS and IPS officers to ensure the free and fair conduct of Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday, April 2, appointed Sandeep Rai Rathore as the new Director-General of Police (DGP) of the state. He replaced G. Venkatraman, who was serving as in-charge DGP.
A 1992-batch IPS officer, Rathore is the third senior-most DGP in the state, after Seema Agrawal and Rajeev Kumar. He has previously served as Inspector General of Police in the National Disaster Response Force during his deputation with the Government of India, The Hindu reported.
A native of Delhi, Rathore has held several key positions at both the state and central levels. He was the first Commissioner of the newly created Avadi Commissionerate and later served as the Commissioner of Police, Chennai. He is currently the DGP of the Tamil Nadu Police Academy.
The ECI also appointed Additional Director General of Police Sanjay Kumar, a 1997-batch IPS officer, as Commissioner of Police, Tambaram, replacing A Amalraj.
In addition, Abhishek Dixit has been posted as Commissioner of Police, Madurai, and RV Ramya Bharti as Inspector General of Police, West Zone.
The ECI stated that the orders take immediate effect and that officers transferred out will not be assigned any election-related duties until the completion of the polls.