Sanjay Arora, a Tamil Nadu-cadre IPS officer who headed the paramilitary force ITBP, was appointed Delhi police commissioner on Sunday.

Arora, who was once part of the Tamil Nadu police’s special task force that later hunted down forest brigand Veerappan, will succeed Rakesh Asthana, a Gujarat-cadre IPS officer who retired on Sunday.

Arora, 57, is the second successive non-AGMUT-cadre IPS officer to head the Delhi police and the third since the Delhi Police Act was passed in 1978 and a commissionerate was established.

The Delhi police function under the Union home ministry.

Arora, a 1988-batch IPS officer, will take charge on Monday and will continue till further orders. He is due for retirement in 2025.

He served as the superintendent of police of the Tamil Nadu STF that was set up to hunt down Veerappan and was awarded the chief minister’s gallantry medal for bravery during this stint. He served as Coimbatore police commissioner between 2002 and 2004.

Arora was appointed director-general of the paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in August last year. He also had stints in the CRPF and the BSF. Arora holds a BTech degree in electrical and electronics engineering. Officials said Arora had played an important role in forming the Special Security Group (SSG) to provide cover to the chief minister of Tamil Nadu during the heyday of the LTTE.