As the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government completes 100 days in office, it has placed three senior bureaucrats on the waiting list in separate cases involving alleged tender irregularities and scrutiny over the handling of the Gem Veeramani case.
The actions involve Tambaram Corporation Commissioner S Balachander IAS and senior IPS officers A Arun and N Kannan.
IAS Officer Balachander Transferred
Balachander was relieved of his post and placed on compulsory wait on September 15, shortly after anti-corruption organisation Arappor Iyakkam raised allegations over two Tambaram Corporation tenders worth a combined ₹45.9 lakh. The organisation alleged that the two civic works had been completed and inaugurated even before the corresponding tenders were opened for bidding.
One of the tenders, worth ₹27.3 lakh, concerned an Ashoka Pillar, landscaping and beautification works at the Perungalathur Bridge Roundana. The other, worth ₹18.6 lakh, involved a Save Water Concept statue and landscaping at the Chitlapakkam Roundana. Arappor Iyakkam alleged that both works had been completed before the tender process was completed and sought an inquiry into the matter.
The government subsequently relieved Balachander of his duties, with Avadi Corporation Commissioner R Saranya IAS given additional charge of Tambaram Corporation. The order came after the complaints were submitted to the government and the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption.
IPS Officers Arun & Kannan On Compulsory Wait
The government has now taken another significant step by placing senior IPS officers A Arun and N Kannan on compulsory wait amid scrutiny of the handling of the Gem Veeramani POCSO case.
Arun, who was serving as Additional Director General of Police and Director of the Tamil Nadu Police Academy, and Kannan, who was serving as Inspector General of Police and Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore City, were moved to compulsory wait with immediate effect on September 24. The government order itself does not specify the reasons for their transfer.
The action comes amid allegations concerning the handling of an earlier complaint against Gem Granites chairman R Veeramani. Tamil Nadu Congress functionary Ranjan Kumar has alleged that he submitted a complaint to Kannan in November 2024, when Kannan was serving as Additional Commissioner of Police, Chennai, but that no action was taken at the time. Kannan had subsequently been a senior police officer in Chennai when the matter was brought to the department’s attention.
Arun was serving as Chennai Police Commissioner during the relevant period. Reports have noted that the timing of when the police were first alerted to the allegations has become a point of scrutiny in the case.
Following the latest order, Rajeev Kumar, DGP (Training), has been given full additional charge of Director of the Tamil Nadu Police Academy, while IG R V Ramya Bharathi, West Zone, has been given additional charge as Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore City.
Taken together, the three actions represent a notable willingness by the newly formed TVK government to remove senior officials from their posts when serious allegations or administrative lapses come under scrutiny.
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