IPS officer’s claim of an attempt on her life sparks political firestorm in Tamil Nadu

Additional Director General of Police Kalpana Nayak claims her office was set on fire after she exposed irregularities in the state’s police recruitment process.

 “Had I gone there a few minutes earlier, I would have lost my life.” The chilling words of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Kalpana Nayak have ignited a political storm in Tamil Nadu, with opposition leader Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), quoting her complaint to the state police chief, calling the allegations “deeply disturbing.”

In a letter to Director General of Police Shankar Jiwal, Nayak alleged that an attempt was made on her life after she exposed irregularities in Tamil Nadu’s police recruitment process.

In her complaint, she said that a fire gutted her office in Chennai on July 29, 2024, just days after she flagged discrepancies in reservations in the recruitment of sub-inspectors, constables, prison warders, and firemen. The irregularities she highlighted, she claimed, averted an adverse order from the Madras High Court and potential embarrassment for the state government but also placed her life in jeopardy.

On Monday, EPS said, “The news that ADGP Kalpana Nayak, IPS, has alleged that an attack was carried out on her office with the intention to murder her for exposing irregularities in the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB) is shocking. Her statement… is deeply disturbing. It is utterly disgraceful that those who dared to expose corruption within their own department were targeted. What will Chief Minister M K Stalin say about this act?”

Dr S Ramadoss, founder of the NDA ally, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), also raised the issue, calling for a judicial inquiry led by a Madras High Court judge and urging the government to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation to determine whether the fire was an orchestrated murder attempt.