Tamil Nadu Police

Tamil Nadu Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is over 150 years old and is the fifth largest state police force in India. Tamil Nadu has a police-population ratio of 1:632. The Director General of the Tamil Nadu police is Shankar Jiwal.
The Tamil Nadu Police is headed by the Director General of Police (DGP). The DGP has the designation of Head of Police Force (HoPF) and is assisted by special and additional DGPs. The current DGP is Shankar Jiwal, IPS. The headquarters is also the office of the DGP and is situated in Chennai, the state's capital. The HQ oversees and coordinates the overall functioning of the police force in the state.
For administrative purposes, the state has been divided into four police zones – North, South, West and Central each headed by an Inspector General of Police.
Inspector-general of police will be assisted by a Deputy Inspector-General Of Police with jurisdiction of range comprising 2 or more districts.
Each district is headed by a Superintendent of Police, whereas major metropolitan cities such as Chennai and it's satellite commissionerates in Tambaram and Avadi are headed by the Commissioner of Police equivalent to the rank of Additional Director General of Police and Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Salem, Tiruppur, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore are headed by a City Commissioner Of Police equivalent to the rank of Inspector-General of Police.
North Zone having jurisdiction over 10 Districts (excluding Chennai City, Avadi City, Tambaram City) viz., Kanchipuram, Thiruvallur, Cuddalore, Villuppuram, Vellore, Ranipet, Thirupattur, Tiruvannamalai, Kallakurichi, Chengalpattu. The Inspector General of Police in the North Zone is N. Kannan IPS
West Zone having jurisdiction over 8 Districts (exclude Coimbatore City, Salem City, Tiruppur City) viz., Coimbatore Rural, Tiruppur Rural, Salem Rural, The Nilgiris, Erode, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri and Namakkal. The Inspector General of Police in the West Zone is K.Bhavaneshwari IPS
Central Zone having jurisdiction over 9 Districts (excluding Tiruchirappalli City) viz., Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli Rural, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Karur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Pudukottai and Mayiladuthurai. The Inspector General of Police in the Central Zone is G. Karthikeyan IPS
South Zone having jurisdiction over 10 Districts (excluding Madurai City and Tirunelveli City) viz., Madurai Rural, Dindigul, Ramanathapuram, Sivagangai, Theni, Virudhunagar, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli Rural, Kanyakumari and Tenkasi. The Inspector General of Police in the South Zone is Asra Garg IPS
The ranks, posts and designations of all police officers vary from state to state as law and order is a state matter. But, generally the following pattern is observed:
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₹8,900 crore (US$1.0 billion) (2020-21 est.)
Majority of the equipment used by Tamil Nadu police are manufactured by Indian Ordnance Factories controlled by the Ordnance Factories Board, Ministry of Defence, and the Government of India. Tamil Nadu police are equipped with various weapons such as AK-47, Ishapore 2A1 rifle, Lee–Enfield rifle, INSAS rifle, FN FAL rifle, Glock handguns, shotguns and grenade launchers.
The special units of Tamil Nadu Police headed by Additional Director General of Police/Inspector general of police which is also supervised overall by Director General of Police. These Special Units perform specific functions related to security, intelligence, criminal investigations and support services. They are as follows:
Routine cyber offences including phishing, vishing, morphing, extortion and cyber stalking complainants from individuals are investigated by the cyber crime police stations in districts and cities. The Cyber Crime Wing is headed by the Additional Director General of Police, Cyber Crime.
The Cyber Crime Investigation Centre located at the hear quarter of Cyber Crime Wing of Tamil Nadu police in Ashok Nagar, Chennai, deals exclusively with organised cyber crime, ransomware attacks and cryptocurrency frauds . The Cyber Crime Investigation Centre was notified as a police station with wider power and jurisdiction across the state. It investigates cases with undefined jurisdiction of suspects and complainants. It also investigates social media posts that abuse constitutional functionaries, damage state integrity, disturbs public order, anti-national activities, media that affect the sovereignty and integrity of India.
Social Media Monitoring Centre, in 2022, the Tamil Nadu Government announced its formation "to monitor and curb the spread of fake news and misinformation online".
The cyber crime helpline phone number is 1930. Victims of any cyber financial fraud can contact the helpline to block and revert the money transferred to criminals. In the financial year 2021 more than ₹3 crore (US$350,000) were recovered by Tamil Nadu police based on complaints of cyber crime.
The Tamil Nadu Police has faced severe criticism for acts of misconduct, corruption, caste bias, and custodial deaths. The department has also faced flak for incidents of moral policing.
Vachathi Tragedy: On 20 June 1992, policemen, forest officers and revenue officers conducted a raid in village of Vachathi, Dharmapuri District accusing the villagers of smuggling sandalwood for Veerappan. Around 100 villagers were assaulted and 18 women were raped.
The CBI investigated the case on direction of the Madras High Court and filed report that 108 policemen were guilty in abetting the assault on innocent villagers.
Kodiyankulam Brutality: On 31 August 1995, 600 officials of the Tamil Nadu Police attacked Dalit families in Kodiyankulam village located in the Thoothukudi district. The officials destroyed properties such as televisions, tape recorders, fans, sewing machines, motorcycles, machines, tractors, farm equipment and food grain storages. They burnt the passports of educated Dalit youth in bonfire along with clothes. The only well present in the village was reportedly poisoned by police. They harassed the women and assaulted the elders. Cash and jewellery worth several lakhs of rupees were also taken by the policemen. The police raid was reported to target the material prosperity of the Pallars, on the orders of upper caste officials.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, several officials were involved in the Custodial death of P Jayaraj and Bennicks. The Department had suspended two sub inspectors and an inspector. The entire team in the Sathankulam police station Tamil nadu, including those in other ranks, have been transferred to other locations. Following allegations of coverup, the Central Bureau of Investigation took over the investigation of this case. During the investigation, 10 police officials including Inspector/SHO, 3 Sub inspector, 2 HC, 4 Constables, all of Sathankulam Police Station were arrested. The CBI had filed a charge sheet on 26 September 2020 against all arrested police officials under sections 120-B of IPC r/w sections 302, 342, 201, 182, 193, 211, 218 & 34 & substantive offences. One more accused, Sub Inspector Palthurai died during investigation due to COVID-19.
In 2021, the Chennai Police intervened in a case regarding a lesbian couple, who willingly fled their houses fearing interrogation and harassment. The couple approached the Madras High Court; the verdict passed by judge N Anand Venkatesh ruled in their favor, ruling the need to reform and introduce a specific clause among the judiciary and law enforcement while dealing with issues regarding same sex couples. Furthermore, in the interim ruling, Judge Venkatesh prohibited Conversion Therapy, besides suggesting comprehensive measures to sensitize the society and remove prejudices against the LGBTQIA+ community.