Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Praveen Sood on Thursday took charge as the 34th director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The 1986 batch Karnataka cadre officer took over the charge from Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, who completed his fixed two-year tenure in the agency on Thursday.
People familiar with the developments said Sood had a brief interaction with senior officers of the CBI, during which he was familiarised with the work of the premier investigating agency and its branches.
Sood joins CBI at a crucial time when the agency is investigating several sensitive cases, including the Delhi excise policy scam, in which former deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia has been arrested.
Also Read: Who is Praveen Sood, the Karnataka DGP now appointed CBI director? 5 points
A high-powered panel including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury approved Sood’s name for heading CBI on May 14.
Sood who previously served as the Karnataka chief of police has served in various important positions, including as superintendent of police (SP) Bellary and Raichur; additional commissioner of police (Traffic) Bengaluru City; commissioner of police, Mysuru City and Bengaluru City; additional director general of police (ADGP), principal secretary (home); director general of police (internal security) and DGP (CID).
{{/usCountry}}Sood who previously served as the Karnataka chief of police has served in various important positions, including as superintendent of police (SP) Bellary and Raichur; additional commissioner of police (Traffic) Bengaluru City; commissioner of police, Mysuru City and Bengaluru City; additional director general of police (ADGP), principal secretary (home); director general of police (internal security) and DGP (CID).
{{/usCountry}}Besides, he has worked as an advisor to the government of Mauritius.
“He has supervised investigation in high-profile cases involving high net-worth individuals and cases having inter-state and international ramifications and also investigation and detection of crime, including cybercrime, information technology etc. Specifically, he worked for strengthening of CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems) and ICJS (Interoperable Criminal Justice System) networks in the Karnataka state along with the judiciary,” a CBI spokesperson said on Thursday.
A graduate of IIT Delhi, Sood has also done post-graduation in public policy and management from IIM Bengaluru and Maxwell School of Governance from Syracuse University, New York.
He was awarded the President’s police medal for distinguished service in 2011 and the police medal for meritorious service in 2002.