Overview
- Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal assumed charge as Tamil Nadu’s Director General of Police on June 3, 2026 after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved his return from the Border Security Force.
- The state government transferred Sandeep Rai Rathore to head Prisons and Correctional Services and issued a wider reshuffle to fill senior policing posts.
- The appointment closes a nine- to ten-month gap that followed the August 2025 retirement of Shankar Jiwal and that was prolonged by late empanelment, DVAC inquiries and disputes between the State and the UPSC.
- Aggarwal is a 1994-batch IPS officer with prior service as Chennai Commissioner of Police and as Special Director General in the BSF, and he will hold a minimum two-year tenure under the Supreme Court’s Prakash Singh guidelines.
- He has said his top priorities are curbing narcotics, strict action on crimes against women and tackling cybercrime, changes that could shift operational focus and prompt further personnel and technology upgrades across the force.