After months of delay caused by legal cases and repeated postponements, the Tamil Nadu Police now finally have a regular chief. Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, a 1994-batch officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS), assumed charge on Wednesday as the Director General of Police (DGP) and Head of the Police Force of Tamil Nadu. Prior to this, Mr. Aggarwal was Special Director General in the Border Security Force (BSF).
On June 1, the Cabinet Committee on Appointments approved a proposal from the Ministry of Home Affairs ordering the repatriation of Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal from the BSF. Until now, Sandeep Rathore had been discharging the duties of this post. Following the retirement of Shankar Jiwal, as Director General of Police in August 2025, Tamil Nadu had been without a full-time DGP for the past nine months.
Meanwhile, Sandeep Rai Rathore has been transferred and appointed as the Director General of the Department of Prisons and Correctional Services.
The new DGP, Mr. Aggarwal, has served in several key positions, including that of the Police Commissioner of Chennai. Expressing his gratitude to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay for giving him the opportunity to serve as the Police Chief, he stated that his primary priority would be to eradicate the drug menace. He added that strict action would be taken against crimes committed against women, as well as against cyber crimes.
Mr. Aggarwal also appealed to the public to extend their support and cooperation to the police in maintaining peace and law and order. After assuming office, Mr. Agarwal paid a courtesy visit to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru M. Joseph Vijay, and laid a wreath at the Police Memorial.
