A senior IPS officer—Kalpana Nayak—has alleged that her office was set on fire in July 2024 after she flagged discrepancies in community-based requirements to the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB).
Kalpana who had been serving as the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for TNUSRB at the time, has submitted a complaint to Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) Shankar Jiwal, alleging a continued threat to her life and demanded an unbiased investigation, reports says.
Kalpana has reportedly said in her complaint that she had flagged discrepancies in the implementation of community-based reservation in the recruitment of sub-inspectors, constables, prison warders, and firemen. Days after she had flagged the discrepancies, her chambers were gutted in a fire, she has also reportedly added in her complaint. The fire had been ruled an electrical accident at the time.
According to The Hindu, Kalpana has also pointed out that the exposure had led to embarrassment for the state government. Further, she has also submitted a second complaint demanding an unbiased investigation into the fire, adding that had she been in office at the time, she would have lost her life, India Today reports.
Reacting to the complaints, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswamy has said, “It is a shameful act to try and kill someone who has exposed the corruption in their department. What does [Chief Minister] Stalin have to say about this?”
Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai said, “Flouting rules and laws have become customary in Tamil Nadu under this DMK Government. Even top police officials are not spared for speaking the uncomfortable truth that could expose the pathetic nature in which this government is functioning.”