Chennai: After giving a statement to the media that he was pleased and satisfied with his service as Inspector General of police (IG), Idol Wing CID, Pon Manickavel retired from his service, which included a lot of action, from today.
“I did not have any problem with the government. I had issues only with some police officers. I am sure young officers will do a good job. All are equal before law,” he said.
An official release stated that Abhay Kumar Singh who is currently serving as Additional Director of Police, Chief Vigilance Officer of Tamilnadu News Print and Papers Limited, Karur is transferred and posted as Additional Director General of Police, Idol Wing, CID.
Abhay Kumar is known as an honest officer. He had earlier served as Inspector General of Police, South Zone (Law and Order) and Additional Commissioner of city traffic.
Having served as Superintendent of police in Kanchipuram, Villupuram and Cuddalore, he gradually climbed in the hierarchy.
When he was heading the City Crime Branch (CCB) he cracked a number of land grab cases and had them under control.
While he served as IG South, he was appreciated for handling the funeral function of former President APJ Abdul Kalam as VVIPs from all over India had arrived in Tamilnadu.
As Additional Commissioner of Traffic he re-enforced the helmet rule and was appreciated for his ground work during the hospitalisation and demise of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and during Vardah Cyclone in 2016.
Pon Manickavel, an IPS officer of Tamilnadu Cadre, was both loved and hated by his department. A motivational speaker, he shot to limelight in the recent past after finding a number of missing idols stolen from ancient temples in small towns and villages in Tamilnadu.
He brought back at least a 1,000 idols back to Tamilnadu. Retrieving the idols of Tamil emperor Rajaraja Cholan and his wife Lokamadevi Bronze statue was among of his achievements.