Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal appointed head of Tamil Nadu police

CHENNAI: Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, a 1994-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre and currently serving as special director general (human rights) in the Border Security Force (BSF), has been appointed as the director general of police (DGP) and head of police force (HoPF) of Tamil Nadu. He succeeded DGP Sandeep Rai Rathore, a 1992-batch IPS officer.Aggarwal was serving on central deputation with the BSF and was also holding additional charge as special director general of the BSF Eastern Command in Kolkata at the time of his appointment.Under the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh case, Aggarwal will hold the post of DGP and head of police force for a fixed tenure of two years from the date of assuming office.A senior officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, Aggarwal was recently empanelled to the rank of director general by the Government of India. His central deputation with the ministry of home affairs included responsibility for overseeing operations along the country's eastern border as part of the BSF's Eastern Frontier.Before his deputation to the Centre, Aggarwal served in multiple senior positions in Tamil Nadu. He was Chennai city police commissioner and handled key law-and-order responsibilities in the state capital. He also served as additional director general of police and director general of the armed police, besides holding the post of special director general of the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID).Aggarwal was part of the team that prepared and submitted the final report of the Fifth Police Commission to the Tamil Nadu govt, focusing on reforms and improvements in police administration.He has received the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service and the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Medal in recognition of his service and leadership in policing.