New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has appointed Sanjay Arora, a Tamil Nadu cadre IPS officer, the Delhi Police Commissioner. He will succeed Rakesh Asthana, a Gujarat-cadre IPS officer who retired on Sunday after nearly 38 years in service. The Delhi Police functions under the Union Home Ministry and its officers belong to the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.

According to an official order, the competent authority has approved the inter-cadre deputation of Arora. Arora, a 1988-batch IPS officer, will take charge on Monday and will continue till further order. He is due for retirement in 2025. Arora, 57, who was once a part of the Tamil Nadu Police's special task force which later hunted down forest brigand Veerappan, is the second successive non-AGMUT cadre IPS officer to head the Delhi Police and the third since the Delhi Police Act.

Earlier, Arora served as the Superintendent of Police of the Tamil Nadu Police STF which was set up to hunt down forest brigand Veerappan and he was awarded the chief minister's gallantry medal for bravery during this stint. He served as Coimbatore police commissioner between 2002 and 2004. He was awarded the Police Medal for meritorious service in 2004, President's Police Medal for distinguished service in 2014, Police Special Duty Medal, Antrik Suraksha Seva and UN Peacekeeping Medal among others.

After joining the IPS, he served in various capacities in Tamil Nadu police. He was Superintendent of Police (SP), Special Task Force, where he achieved significant success against the Veerappan gang, for which he was even awarded the Chief Minister's Gallantry Medal for bravery and heroic action. In 1991 after being trained by NSG, Arora had played a pivotal role in forming the Special Security Group (SSG) to provide security to the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu during the days of LTTE activity. He also served as the Superintendent of Police in various districts of the state. /BI/