A senior Indian Police Services officer from Tamil Nadu alleged there was an attempt to murder after she exposed irregularities in Tamilnadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB).
In a written complaint to the Director General of Police Shankar Jiwal, Additional Director General of Police Kalpana Nayak said a fire in her office on July 29, 2024, was an attempt on her life.
She said the fire, which gutted her chamber, happened after she unearthed irregularities in the TNUSRB recruitment, implementing communal reservation.
She said she received a call about a fire in her chamber on July 29; when she arrived at the office, she found the entire room burnt down, with her chair charred.
Fire and Rescue Services attributed the July 29 fire to be caused by an electric short circuit in the air conditioning system. However, according to Nayak, had she been in her chambers, she would have lost her life.
Nayak said the fire occurred after she pointed out the major fallacies in the applicability of communal reservations in the TNUSRB.
Speaking to India Today, she said she filed two complaints. “One complaint was to look into the fallacies I had pointed out and the other one was about the fire. My entire office and the ante-room was completely gutted. As this happened after I exposed the irregularities, I felt that I was the target,” she said.
Chennai Police was asked to open an investigation into her complaints.
Opposition leaders such as AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswamy (EPS) and BJP state president K Annamalai, both, condemned MK Stalin’s government over the allegations.
In a post on X, EPS lambasted the state government, calling it a “condemnable and shameful situation.”
“If an ADGP in Tamil Nadu is being targeted and her government office is being set on fire, is murder the response for exposing irregularities in the regime? How will people dare to voice their grievances,” he asked.
Annamalai, too, posted a statement on social media platform X, saying, “Flaunting rules and laws have become customary in Tamil Nadu under this DMK government.”
“Even top police officials are not spared for speaking the uncomfortable truth that could expose the pathetic nature in which this government is functioning,” he wrote.
He accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin of wrongdoing, saying “Stalin’s iron fist seems to be reserved for silencing truth rather than upholding justice.”