Karnataka DG&IGP Praveen Sood to take over as CBI director later this month

BENGALURU, NEW DELHI: Karnataka Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) Praveen Sood has been appointed by the Union government as the next director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He will have a tenure of two years.

Sood, a 1986 batch IPS officer, will take over from current chief Subodh Kumar Jaiswal after the latter completes his tenure on May 25. Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar had hit out at Sood after the latter had announced the Mangaluru cooker blast as a terror incident.

Meanwhile, Alok Mohan is likely to be appointed at the next DG&IGP of Karnataka as per seniority. He is currently posted as Director General of Police-Prisons.

Praveen Sood’s appointment as the next CBI director came after a high-level committee meeting was held at the official residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on Saturday. The meeting was held to discuss the appointments of the new CBI director, Chief Vigilance Commisioner (CVC) and Lokpal, sources said.

The sources said that the committee meeting was chaired by PM Modi and was attended by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, and Home Minister Amit Shah in their respective capacities. The committee is responsible for selecting the next CBI director, the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) and the Lokpal.

Adhir Ranjan Chaudhry gave a dissent note on the recommendation for the appointment of the CBI director and Chief Vigilance Commissioner, said sources. On the appointment of Lokpal, the committee has recommended the panel set up for the purpose to shortlist the names for the post. Currently, Praveen Kumar Srivastava is the Chief Vigilance Commissioner. (With Agency inputs)