Ø Mr. C. Sylendra Babu a 1987-batch IPS officer will take charge as the new Director General of Police (DGP) of Tamil Nadu from July 1. He will replace J K Tripathy, who is set to retire from service on June 30, 2021. Mr. Babu will hold office for a tenure of two years irrespective of his date of superannuation as per the Supreme Court guidelines in the Prakash Singh case.

Ø Born on June 5, 1962 at Kuzhithurai village in Kanniyakumari district, Babu belonged to the 1987 batch of IPS. After completing a graduation course from Agricultural College and Research Institute in Madurai, he did his post-graduation from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore. He later obtained a Bachelor of Law and an MA degree in Population Studies from the Annamalai University. He was also awarded a PhD by the University of Madras for this thesis on “missing children”.

Ø Mr. Sylendra Babu started out as an assistant superintendent of police in Gobichettipalayam in 1989. He served the State police in various capacities, including Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore, Additional Director-General of Police, Coastal Security Group etc. Before this appointment he served as the DGP, Railways. Mr. Sylendra Babu has won several prestigious awards, including the President’s Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2005, the President’s Police Medal for distinguished service in 2013 and the Chief Minister’s Medal for excellence in public service in 2019.

Ø He has authored more than 10 books in English and Tamil, which include You too can become IPS officer, A guide to Health and Happiness, Udalinai Urithi Sei and Unakul oru Thalaivan.