Senior IPS officer and Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP) A. Arun, who took charge as Greater Chennai City Police Commissioner on Monday, said that he will talk to criminals in the language they understand, hinting at stern action to curb the rowdy menace.
Sandeep Rai Rathore, an officer in the rank of Director-General of Police (DGP), was transferred from the post of City Police Commissioner following criticism from political parties over the failure of the police in preventing the murder of BSP State president Armstrong last week.
Mr. Arun, a 1998-batch IPS officer, was earlier holding the post of ADGP, Law and Order. He took charge as City Police Commissioner in the presence of Additional Commissioners at the Commissionerate in Vepery on Monday.
Addressing the media, Mr. Arun said that Chennai was not new to him, and that he had served in various positions in the city police earlier. Listing his priorities, he said that he will focus on issues such as law and order, crime prevention, traffic bottlenecks, controlling rowdyism, and preventing corrupt practices in the police and ‘katta panchayat’ (kangaroo court).
“If you say that law and order has deteriorated, there should be some basis for that. There should be specific statistics. Time and again, crime continues to occur, and we are engaged continuously in preventing it. Only based on statistics can anyone say that crime has increased. As per statistics, be it in Chennai or Tamil Nadu, murders were very few in 2022 and 2023. Anybody can see those statistics,” he said.
He said that he will take action if it turned out that no action had been taken on any specific threat to the life of Armstrong prior to his murder. He declined to comment on the BSP’s demand for a CBI probe.
Mr. Arun was promoted as ADGP in 2022. He served as Superintendent of Police of Karur, Kanniyakumari and Tiruppur districts. Besides, he was also Deputy Commissioner of Police of Anna Nagar and St. Thomas Mount; Joint Commissioner of Police, South; Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic; Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic; and Additional Commissioner of Police, North, in the Greater Chennai City Police. He also served as Commissioner of Police of Tiruchi and Avadi.
Published - July 08, 2024 08:13 pm IST
