Sandeep Rai Rathore is currently the DGP, Tamil Nadu Police Academy. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday (April 2, 2026) appointed Director General of Police (DGP) Sandeep Rai Rathore as the head of the Tamil Nadu Police Force, replacing Acting DGP/Head of Police Force (HoPF) G Venkatraman.
The ECI said the order will be effective immediately and the transferred officer will not be deputed for any election-related duties till the end of the elections.
The ECI has also appointed additional Director General of Police Sanjay Kumar, a 1997 batch IPS officer, as Tambaram Police Commissioner. Replaces A. Amalraj.
Abhishek Dixit has been appointed as Commissioner of Police, Madurai, and RV Ramya Bharti has been appointed as Inspector General of Police, West Zone.
The decision comes days after opposition parties demanded the transfer of some IAS and IPS officers in the state to ensure free and fair assembly elections.
A 1992 batch IPS officer, he is the third senior most DGP in the state after Seema Agrawal and Rajeev Kumar. He served as Inspector General of Police, National Disaster Response Force while deputizing to the Government of India.
Mr. Rathore was in the three-officer commission finalized by the UPSC after the first ECM held in Delhi on September 26, 2025. However, the state did not select any of them for the top post, leading to several contempt cases in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court, while dealing with one of the contempt cases, ordered the completion of the process of appointing a regular DGP/HoPF within three weeks.
He gave the state a week to send the proposal and the UPSC two weeks to finalize the list of three eligible officials. However, the ECM was postponed due to administrative reasons, a police source said.
However, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) postponed the Empanelment Committee meeting scheduled on 20 March 2026 to select the names of 3 DGP candidates suitable for appointment as DGP/HoPF of Tamil Nadu Police.
While the ECI appoints the DGP, Elections to take over all poll-related responsibilities, Mr. Rathore has been appointed as the DGP as there is no regular HoPF in the state.
Mr. Rathore is a native of Delhi and has served in various capacities in the State and the Centre. He was the first Commissioner of the then newly created Avadi Commissionerate and later became the Commissioner of Police, Chennai. He is currently the DGP, Tamil Nadu Police Academy.
Police sources said Mr. Rathore’s appointment as DGP/HoPF will be effective till the election process is completed in Tamil Nadu. After that, the state government would have to appoint a regular police chief with a fixed tenure of two years as per the apex court’s directions in the Prakash Singh case.
Published – 02 Apr 2026 19:58 IST
