“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.
The office of the DGP clarified that Nayak had alleged in August 2024 that “she suspected foul play and sabotage in the incident and stated that she faced a threat to her life”. “A detailed investigation was carried out, during which statements from 31 witnesses were recorded, and experts from forensic science, fire services, and electrical departments were consulted to determine the cause of the fire… Forensic experts have opined that evidence of short-circuit was noticed in copper wires. In addition, the forensic report states that based on thin-layer chromatography and gas chromatography, the presence of any arson material like petrol, diesel or any other inflammable substances is ruled out. Thus, based on the investigation conducted so far, it is evident that there is no willful act of arson, ruling out any planned threat to the life of Kalpana Nayak, IPS, Additional Director General of Police,” the DGP’s office said in a statement.
The fire
The blaze Nayak mentioned in her complaint occurred on July 29, moments before she was to arrive at her office at the TNUSRB headquarters in Egmore. The complaint said she received a call from a senior officer advising her not to come as a fire had broken out in her chamber. On reaching the site, she saw her chair and office reduced to ashes. “If I had reached office a little earlier, I would have lost my life,” she wrote in her complaint, which Palaniswami also quoted in his statement.
According to the FIR accessed by The Indian Express regarding the fire accident, which was filed at Egmore police station, the fire was recorded as “accidental.”
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Talking to The Indian Express, Nayak explained why she raised the suspicion: “The recruitment issue was sensitive, and I have flagged it. Some reserved candidates were adversely affected in the process. It was later corrected.”
“Why was only my chamber and the attached private room burnt? Nobody was sure of the reasons for the fire,” she said.
Nayak’s complaint alleged that she was scheduled to review and approve the revised list of selected candidates for recruitment that very day. She also alleged that the revised list was published on the TNUSRB website the day after the fire without her review or approval. She further complained that no inquiry was launched into the role of staff responsible for the maintenance and security of the office building.
A senior official in the Tamil Nadu Home Department, speaking to The Indian Express, dismissed the notion that crucial recruitment files could have been destroyed in a fire since data is shared across multiple government departments.
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“If the intent was to destroy those documents, why would the alleged perpetrators act in broad daylight, in the morning, instead of doing it at night?” he said.
However, the allegations sparked significant political backlash. “If an ADGP’s government office can be set on fire with the intention of killing her, simply because she revealed corruption in the recruitment process, then what is the fate of ordinary citizens who speak out against injustices in this administration?” EPS said.
“The Stalin-model DMK government must take full responsibility for this shameful and condemnable state of affairs,” he said.
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