TN IPS officer alleges murder bid after exposing recruitment scam

D Kalpana Nayak, a senior IPS officer in Tamil Nadu, has alleged that a deliberate attempt was made to kill her after she exposed irregularities related to appointments in the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Commission (TNUSPC). Though she filed a complaint with the DGP in August 2024, she claimed, no action has been taken so far.

Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu have criticised the delay in investigation. However, the state police department stated that an investigation was initiated on the same day she filed her complaint.

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Shifted out of recruitment board

Nayak was transferred from the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB), Chennai, to the Idol Wing, CID Tamil Nadu Police, in December 2024. Her exposé revealed discrepancies in implementing communal reservation in the recruitment of sub-inspectors, constables, prison warders, and firemen in the TNUSRB.

In her complaint, Nayak said that within days after she exposed irregularities in the TNUSRB, a fire broke out in her office room in Chennai, on July 29, 2024. The incident occurred just a few minutes before she entered her office. She said the fire damaged her room to such an extent that her chair was charred, and the entire room was destroyed.

Nayak said that she received a call minutes before arriving at the office from a junior officer informing her that there was a fire in the office. “I was shocked when I went to my room. If I had gone to my room a little sooner, I would have died. This incident took place a few days after I exposed the irregularities,” she said in her complaint, demanding an impartial investigation.

Madras HC order on selection list

A petition filed regarding the irregularities exposed by Nayak was heard in the Madras High Court last year, and the court ordered TNUSRB to rectify the selection list. However, activists complain that no action was taken against the officers involved in the discrepancies, and Nayak’s complaint was not addressed seriously.

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Tamil Nadu DGP Shankar Jiwal told the media that Nayak’s complaint was attended to immediately. “Though initial inspections found no evidence of sabotage, the case has been referred to the Chennai Police for further investigation. Fire and rescue teams inspected the site of the incident. There was no evidence of sabotage. They said the accident occurred due to a short circuit. But we have initiated a thorough investigation,” he said.

But Nayak has alleged that the incident was not an accident but rather a deliberate attempt to silence her as she had exposed irregularities. She also mentioned that after her exposé, a revised list of selected candidates was published on the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Personnel website without her review and approval.

Opposition slams DMK regime

Meanwhile, former IPS officer and Tamil Nadu state BJP chief K Annamalai flayed the state government on Twitter, stating that even senior police officials do not feel safe in the state.

“Violations and lawbreaking have become routine under the DMK government in Tamil Nadu. Even senior police officials who speak about the pathetic state of affairs under this administration have not been able to escape its consequences. Although senior police officials have tried to dismiss the fire as an electrical fault, the events leading up to the incident cast doubt on their claim. ADGP Kalpana Nayak was not only removed from decision-making responsibilities but was also not consulted before the revised list of DSP appointments was released,” he said in a post on X.

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“As a consequence of exposing the irregularities in the appointment of Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs), both past and present, ADGP Kalpana Nayak's office was set on fire,” he alleged.

“Had she been in her office at the time of the fire, she might have lost her life. What's even worse is that her repeated appeals for a proper investigation into this incident appear to have been ignored by the Tamil Nadu police. Why? In Tamil Nadu, whistle-blowers—whether social activists or government officials—are being silenced, even to the extent of being murdered for exposing corruption, mismanagement, and malpractice. Even senior police officials do not feel safe in the state,” he added.

AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition, Edappadi Palaniswami, has demanded a probe into Nayak's complaint. He said the incident was a blot on the police department, which functions under the chief minister. “The DMK government must, hence, own up to full responsibility for the condemnable, shameful state of affairs in the police department,” he said in his statement.