| K.Vijay Kumar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15.09.1952 |
| Occupation | Director General of Central Reserve Police Force, IPS Officer |
K Vijay Kumar (born 15 September 1950) is the son of Mr. Krishnan Nair(a retired police officer) and Mrs.Kousalya. He is the second son in a family of six.He is an officer in the Indian Police Service and was the Chief of the Special Task Force that was behind the encounter of notorious bandit Veerappan[1]. In 2008, he was chosen to head the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.[2][3]
On 1 October 2010, Kumar was appointed Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).[4]
Kumar joined the IPS in 1975 [5].} He served as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in Pattukkottai, Trichy and Sembiam (Chennai). He then became Superintendent of Police, in which role he served Dharmapuri, Salem (1977–1985). During this period he worked mainly with Walter Devaram, whose courage had impressed him as a young officer
His other posts include:
First Tenure in Special Task Force (STF):
Vijay Kumar always had the thirst to nab the notorious forest brigand Veerappan. This guy had been a real challenge for the police force of Tamil Nadu and Karantaka. Devaram, the retired Director General of Police of Tamil Nadu was instrumental in curbing naxal activities in Tamil Nadu in the late 1970s and in the early 1980s. Devaram was in-charge of the Special Task Force (STF) to nab Veerappan. Devaram is still a role model for many officers who serve the department currently.
Veerappan was a real challenge for Devaram as well. Devaram once quoted Veerappan as a “Worthy Foe”. Vijay Kumar loves to take challenge with such worthy foes. During 1993-1996, Vijay Kumar was joined the Special Task Force (STF) to nab the notorious criminal. But Vijay Kumar was in the Special Task Force (STF) for just a month. Vijay Kumar was DIG in-charge of Chief Minister security. So, Vijay Kumar did not have much time with Special Task Force. Vijay Kumar was during this period learned lot from role model Devaram.
Central Deputation:
Kumar always loved to be a field officer. He was deputed to the Border Security Force and he served as the Inspector General of the Border Security Force Kashmir frontier for over two years. Kumar headed the Border Security Force (BSF) in Kashmir and was himself associated with a number of operations.
Kumar also served as the IGP (Operations) at the Border Security Force BSF headquarters in New Delhi from August 2000 to May 2001. On December 9, 2000, Vijay Kumar came to Tamil Nadu and handed over 1000 Border Security Force (BSF) men to the Special Task Force(STF) to assist in nabbing Veerappan.
Second tenure in Special Task Force(STF):
Vijay Kumar returned to Tamil Nadu Police in May 2001 completing his central deputation. He was brought back to Tamil Nadu to lead Special Task Force(STF)again.
City Police Commissioner, Chennai:
Commissioner of Chennai city was always a prestigious post and this opportunity knocked the doors of Vijay Kumar in late 2001. Vijay Kumar was posted as the Commissioner of Police, Chennai city. He took charge on 9 December 2001 and served the as the Commissioner till 19 November 2003.
As the chief of the city police (for 23 months), he had been instrumental in bringing down organized crime in the city. Most of the rowdies in Chennai were encountered during this period and Chennai was turning crime-free. About 1000 people were detained in Goondas act in the first year of his tenure as the Commissioner of Police of Chennai. More followed in 2003 and even those who came out of jail after their one-year term behind bars, chose to keep quiet out of fear for the dare-devil Commissioner of Police. City Police carried out seven encounters during his tenure.
Though there was large-scale criticism from human rights activists, all those killed were hard-core criminals involved in a series of cases. Some popular encounters include that of “Ayodhyakuppam Veeramani,[6] Tamil extremists Rajaram and Saravanan, Venkatesa Pannaiyar. It was this period that the Law and Order was maintained perfectly in the state capital.
City Police Image:
When Vijay Kumar was asked by the press reporters on his priority when he took charge as the COP of Chennai, he told that he would focus on improving the image of the city Police. In his 23 months stint, Vijay Kumar has been able to restore police credibility to a large extent. His reputation as a non-controversial officer with suave manners, and straight talk, has stood him in good stead in his present office, say observers.
Operation Cocooon:
Vijay Kumar was deputed back to STF for the third time in 2003.He was posted as the Chief of the STF.The operation named “Operation Cocooon” was planned by DGP Vijay Kumar and the SP, STF N.K. Senthamarai Kannan.A plan that was planned for 10 months was implemented on October 18, 2004. Luck was in favor of STF this time.
Veerappan and three of his associates were killed in an encounter that lasted for 20 minutes. Veerappan who had been a real challenge for Tamil Nadu police is no more now. The man whose head was charged for Rupees 5 crore and who had been successful against the Police for 20 years was killed in a 20 minute encounter. The operation was led by DGP himself, assisted by the Superintendents of Police,Senthamarai Kannan (who masterminded the intelligence trap), K. Shanmugavelu and P. Chinnasamy. The core team consisted of the Deputy Superintendents of Police, N. Thirunavukkarasu, and Hussain. Inspectors N. Rajarajan and Mohan Nawaz led the ambush team.
Currently as the head of Anti Naxal Operation's he was instrumental in killing Kishenji in an encounter at West Bengal.