Garg, Srikumar are vigilance commissioners

A panel headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has cleared the appointment of former Karnataka police chief R. Srikumar and the Corporation Bank chairman, L.M. Garg, as Vigilance Commissioners in the Central Vigilance Commission

A panel headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has cleared the appointment of former Karnataka police chief R. Srikumar and the Corporation Bank chairman, L.M. Garg, as Vigilance Commissioners in the Central Vigilance Commission.

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Srikumar was a key member in the special team that investigated former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, the 1992 stock market scam and more recently, the Abdul Karim Telgi-led stamp paper fraud.

Garg, who joined the banking sector in 1973, was executive director at Punjab National Bank before his appointment less than two years ago as chairman and managing director of Corporation Bank.

The decision to fill the two crucial posts — that had been vacant for nearly seven months — comes ahead of the end of Central Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha's tenure in mid-September. The two will fill the vacancy created when the last two commissioners — retired police officer, Sudhir Kumar, and former chairperson of Nabard, Ranjana Kumar — complete their tenure.

Top government sources indicated Srikumar and Garg had been identified for the position several months ago in view of their impeccable track record.

"Many of the names that were speculated in the intervening period were incorrect… yes, there were other officers who were lobbying very hard with the government but did not succeed," the sources said.

Their names were put before a panel headed by the Prime Minister in the second half of July and cleared. P. Chidambaram and Sushma Swaraj were also part of the panel.