New chief takes charge as CBI faces credibility crisis

Anil Kumar Sinha takes charge at a time when the agency is facing credibility crisis, with the apex court indicting its former chief Ranjit Sinha for his role in 2G-spectrum scam probe.

Anil Kumar Sinha (58), an IPS officer of the 1979 batch, took over as the new Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director on Wednesday.

He takes charge at a time when the agency is facing credibility crisis, with the apex court indicting its former chief Ranjit Sinha for his role in 2G-spectrum scam probe.

The court had asked him to recuse from the probe. Ranjit Sinha relinquished his charge on Tuesday on superannuation. The court had even nicknamed the agency ‘caged parrot’ while hearing the coal scam case earlier.

Sinha was purportedly on good terms with his predecessor, according to a government source: "The government has it seems preferred for continuity by choosing the new CBI director, who has had the experience of supervising the agency’s key probes since becoming its special director last year."

Before landing the top job, Anil Sinha was CBI’s special director since May 2013. He had supervised key probes, including the Saradha chit fund scam and the Badaun case involving the deaths of two minor cousins in May.

The new chief said he was aware of the "challenges facing the agency and would work to strengthen the cause of justice, impartiality and integrity". Sinha was appointed after his name was agreed upon during a meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India HL Dattu and Congress Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge.