Selvanagarathinam allegedly exploited a woman on the pretext of marrying her, and later threatened to kill her.
Selvanagarathinam met the unmarried woman several times and convinced her that he is in love with her. (Creative Commons)
All is not well in the Tamil Nadu police department. An Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of police is facing a department-level inquiry after a woman accused him of sexually exploiting her, promising marriage.
The woman, an MBA graduate working in a private firm, also complained that the 2014-batch IPS officer, S Selvanagarathinam, tried to falsely implicate her in a case after they had parted ways.
In an e-mail complaint to the Director General of Police (DGP) in September 2022, she also said the officer had threatened to shoot her down.
Selvanagarathinam, now the Deputy Director of Tamil Nadu Police Academy, reportedly came into contact with the woman over Instagram in 2019. According to the complainant, the officer soon won her trust and had repeated physical contact with her, saying his marriage was a failure.
Later, the woman allegedly questioned him after coming across a photograph of Selvanagarathinam happily posing with his wife.
The woman alleged that the IPS officer started bullying her and threatened to gun her down when she tried to contact his mother and wife.
Police sources said the officer even tried to implicate her in a false case through his subordinates, and summoned her on the pretext of probing the charges.
Sensing danger, she complained against the officer, who portrays himself to be a “super cop” on social media, in September 2022.
DGP C Sylendra Babu launched a probe into the case and his team confirmed that the allegations were true. The DGP then directed the CB-CID to investigate and sought a report.
CB-CID ADSP K Maheshwari probed the case and submitted a report, confirming the allegations. Following the report, the officer was issued a memo, seeking his explanation in 30 days.
On receiving the memo, Selvanagarathinam moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which refused to stay disciplinary proceedings against him.
Meanwhile, the officer moved the Madras High Court for a stay on the departmental proceedings against him.
In his petition, he contended that the CB-CID failed to investigate the case impartially and also accused the CB-CID officer of trying to extort money from him.
Following this, the high court sought a response from the DGP and posted the case to 6 June for further hearing.
Selvanagarathinam, while serving as ASP in Thoothukudi, led the police contingent against the anti-Sterlite activists in May 2018.
He reportedly ordered a lathi-charge on the protesters at VVD Signal junction around 11 am on 22 May, 2018, the first attack on the people.
Later in the afternoon, he ordered the police to open fire near Thereshpuram, 3 km from VVD Signal Junction. One woman, J Jhansi Rani, was killed in the firing.
However, the IPS officer was condemned in a report by Justice Aruna Jegadeesan Commission but he managed to escape action.
In another incident, in February 2018, during a Red Flag rally on the final day of the 22nd State Conference of the CPI(M), Selvanagarathinam thrashed party workers with wooden logs picked up from a nearby construction site.
Following the incident, an all-party demonstration was held condemning the officer’s action.
Incidentally, another IPS officer, Balveer Singh, has been placed under suspension after he allegedly tortured 10 men in custody.
