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High-level meet on May 12 to pick next CBI chief
The agency has sharpened its focus on core functions over the past three years
A high-powered panel comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi is expected to meet next week, most likely on May 12, to decide the next director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.
A list of senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers from the 1989 to 1992 batches is being prepared by the department of personnel and training (DoPT) for the high-powered committee to consider for the coveted post.
Among those likely to feature in the list and seen as strong contenders are 1989-batch officer and current chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), Parag Jain; 1989-batch Madhya Pradesh cadre officer Ajay Kumar Sharma; 1990-batch officers Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor from Haryana and Sadanand Date, currently Maharashtra DGP; 1991-batch officers G P Singh, currently DG Central Reserve Police Force, and Piyush Anand, DG National Disaster Response Force; and 1992-batch officer Satish Golchha, currently Delhi Police commissioner, among others.
However, incumbent director Praveen Sood, who already heads the premier investigating agency and is serving a one-year extension beyond his fixed two-year tenure, is also in contention for a further extension, officials said, requesting anonymity.
Under Sood, who has led the agency since May 2023, the CBI has secured extraditions in the cases of Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi and brought nearly 150 fugitives back from foreign jurisdictions.
The agency has also sharpened its focus on core functions over the past three years, including registering corruption cases and completing investigations within a year.
