Committee headed by PM Modi to meet today to decide next CBI chief

A committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet today to select the next director of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, along with PM Modi, Chief Justice of India, Justice NV Ramana, and Leader of Opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary will be part of the meeting to appoint the next CBI director, people familiar with the development told the leading daily. The meeting is expected to take place at 7 pm at Prime Minister’s residence today.

As per the report, the PM Modi-led committee will consider Indian Police Service (IPS) officers from four senior-most batches of 1984-87 to be the next CBI chief.

The top contenders for the post are: YC Modi, a 1984-batch IPS officer from the Assam-Meghalaya cadre and Director General of the National Investigation Agency; Rakesh Asthana, Gujarat cadre Director General of the Border Security Force; and 1985 batch officers Subodh Jaiswal (director general of Central Industrial Security Force), Loknath Behera (Kerala police chief), and HC Awasthy (Uttar Pradesh police chief).

Praveen Sinha is currently the acting chief of CBI. The tenure of former CBI Director Rishi Kumar Shukla ended in February.

Shukla, a 1983-batch IPS officer, completed his two-year stint in the agency which was marked by Indian victory in London courts allowing extradition of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya and India clinching the hosting of General Assembly of Interpol in 2022, coinciding with the 75th year of Independence.