Senior IPS officer YC Modi will take over as the director general of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) once Sharad Kumar retires on October 30. A 1984-batch officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, he is currently posted as the additional director of the Central Bureau of Investigation. He will remain NIA chief till his superannuation on May 31, 2021.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) also cleared the appointment of Border Security Force chief Rajni Kant Misra as the next director general of Shashastra Seema Bal. He will replace Archana Ramasundaram, who retires on September 30.
Modi was part of a Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team (SIT), which probed nine cases related to the 2002 Gujarat riots. The SIT had given a clean chit to then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in the Gulbarg Society massacre case.
Kumar, who was chosen for the post during the UPA rule in 2013, had received a two-year extension from the BJP government. Kumar faced criticism on a few occasions during his tenure as NIA head, including the time Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur was given a clean chit in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
Swami Aseemanand, another key accused in Hindu terror cases, received bail in the Mecca Masjid and Samjhauda Express blasts with the NIA making no effort to challenge the order in a higher court. The NIA could prove its charges against only three accused in the Ajmer blast case, allowing the acquittal of six others – including Swami Aseemanand. Significantly, the NIA is yet to challenge the order in a higher court.
{{/usCountry}}Swami Aseemanand, another key accused in Hindu terror cases, received bail in the Mecca Masjid and Samjhauda Express blasts with the NIA making no effort to challenge the order in a higher court. The NIA could prove its charges against only three accused in the Ajmer blast case, allowing the acquittal of six others – including Swami Aseemanand. Significantly, the NIA is yet to challenge the order in a higher court.
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