YC Modi is new NIA chief
The IPS officer, who was part of SIT in Gujarat riots probe, will succeed Sharad Kumar. ››
MHA HAS ALSO CLEARED THE APPOINTMENT OF RAJNI KANTH MISHRA, ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR GENERAL, BSF, AS THE NEXT CHIEF OF THE SASHASTRA SEEMA BAL
NEWDELHI: Senior IPS officer YC Modi will take over as director generalofNationalInvestigation Agency (NIA) after Sharad Kumar retires on October 31.
TheAppointmentsCommittee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved Modi’s appointment as director general of the NIA, said an order issued by the department of personnel and training (DoPT). The ACC also approved the appointmentofModiasofficeron special duty (OSD) in NIA with immediate effect to ensure a smooth takeover.
Accordingtoahomeministry order, Modi will hold the post untilhissuperannuationonMay 31, 2021, or until further orders. Modi, a 1984-batch officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, is additionaldirectorin theCentral Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Kumar, the longest serving chiefoftheNIA,whowaschosen during the UPA regime in 2013, had received a two-year extension from the NDA government.Underhisstewardship,the agency started probing terror financing cases allegedly involving some separatists in Jammu and Kashmir.
Kumar had to face criticism after the NIA gave clean chit to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
Another key accused in the Hindu terror cases, Swami Aseemanand, got bail in the Mecca Masjid and Samjhauta Express blast cases, but the NIA didn't challenge the order in highercourt. InAjmerblastcase, the NIA could prove charges against only three accused and six other, including Swami Aseemanand,wereacquittedbut the NIA is yet to challenge the order in higher court.
ButtheNIAreceivedconsiderablesuccessinotherterrorcases. TheagencymanagedtonailPakistan’s role in the Pathankot air base attack case and its cautious investigation into groups of Islamic State sympathisers helped the government curtail the influence of the terror group.
MHA has also cleared the appointment of Rajni Kanth Mishra, additional director general, BSF, as the next chief of the Sashastra Seema Bal. Current DG Archana Ramasundaram retires on September 30.