Senior IPS officer RA Chandrasekhar (IPS:1991:KL) is likely to be appointed as the next Director General of Police (DGP) in Kerala. Sources indicate that he will be repatriated to his parent cadre and subsequently appointed as the Head of Police Force. In case of any delay in the repatriation process, the state government is expected to assign additional charge of the post to one of the senior IPS officers. The current DGP, Shaik Darvesh Saheb (IPS:1990:KL), is scheduled to retire on June 30.
Chandrasekhar is the second senior-most IPS officer in the Kerala cadre. He is currently on central deputation, serving as Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau. He was recently appointed as Secretary (Security) in the Cabinet Secretariat and was expected to replace Harinath Mishra (IPS:1990:KL) after his retirement on July 31. However, his return to the state to take over as DGP is now seen as the more likely outcome.
Notably, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Thursday submitted a final list of three senior IPS officers to the Kerala government for consideration for the DGP post. Apart from RA Chandrasekhar, the panel includes Nitin Agarwal (IPS:1989:KL), currently serving as Road Safety Commissioner, and Yogesh Gupta (IPS:1993:KL), who is the Director General of Fire and Rescue Services. All three officers hold the DGP rank and meet the required experience and service criteria for the post.
Earlier, the state government had forwarded a list of six IPS officers to the UPSC. In addition to the three names included in the final panel, the original list featured Manoj Abraham (IPS:1994:KL), a DGP-rank officer currently posted as Director, Vigilance, S Suresh (IPS:1995:KL), an ADGP-rank officer on central deputation serving as ADG, Special Protection Group, and MR Ajith Kumar (IPS:1995:KL), also holding the ADGP rank and presently serving in the cadre as Excise Commissioner in an ex-cadre post.
However, the latter two officers—Suresh and Ajith Kumar—did not meet the eligibility conditions of holding the DGP rank and having 30 years of service. Reportedly, the Centre raised objections to their inclusion on these grounds. In response, the Kerala government had written to the Centre, requesting a waiver of the 30-year rule and justifying their inclusion in the list.
Despite this, the UPSC finalized its panel with only the three senior-most officers who fulfilled the eligibility norms and sent the list back to the state government for a final decision.
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Also Read: With Shaik Darvesh Saheb retiring, Kerala awaits its next DGP
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