Who is Sundarraj P? Bastar’s longest serving IPS officer now joins NIA | Today’s news
The Union government has appointed Sundarraj P, the longest-serving IPS officer in the Maoist-hit Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, as the Inspector General of the federal terrorism probe, the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
A letter issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on June 16 to the Chhattisgarh government said that a 2003-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer is deputed by the federal agency after approval by the concerned authority.
The communication asked the Chhattisgarh government to release the 46-year-old officer immediately to take up his new assignment at the Centre.
Who is Sundarraj P?
Sundarraj P (Sundarraj Pattilingam) served a total of 12 years in the Bastar region, seven of them continuously as the area police chief covering seven districts of southern Chhattisgarh, until recently the most Maoist-affected region of the country.
Sundarraj P is credited with a vital role in overseeing anti-Naxal operations conducted by security forces, including coordination with central paramilitary forces, which led to meeting the deadline set by the Union government to end Maoism from the region and the country by March 31 this year.
Sundarraj P has been the authority and constant face to interact with the press as security forces have achieved success or suffered losses during anti-Maoist operations over the past many years, news agency PTI reported.
The MHA is learned to have made a ‘special recommendation’ to post Sundarraj in the NIA in recognition of his hard work and leadership in the anti-Maoist operations in Bastar.
Amit Shah declares Indian Maoism free
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 18 May he announced that the country was “free” from Maoism.
“I am proud to say that India is now. No Naxal” Shah said in Bastar, where he was on his first visit after March 31, the date the Center had earlier set as the deadline to eliminate left-wing extremism from the country.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah: “I am proud to say that India is now Naxal free.”
A native of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Sundarraj holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. He studied at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, completing his degree in agriculture before focusing on the civil services before focusing on the civil services.
