CBI to get joint director from ranks

NEW DELHI: After more than eight years, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is set to get a joint director who has risen from the ranks.

NM Singh, who joined the CBI as deputy superintendent (SP) of police in the early 90s, will be the first officer to be promoted to the post since M Narayanan in January, 2009. “The process for promotion of NM Singh, who is currently posted as deputy inspector general (DIG) in the Special Task Force looking after Manipur encounter cases, to the rank of joint director (an inspector general rank) has been initiated,” said a senior CBI official who asked not to be identified . “A proposal has been sent to the ministry of personnel, which is the administrative ministry of the CBI, for forwarding it to the UPSC for issuance of the necessary order,” said the official.

The CBI has 18 sanctioned posts of joint director of which, four are reserved for officials who rise from the ranks in the agency. But in the absence of any eligible officers, these posts were filled by officers from the Indian Police Service (IPS). Following Singh, two more DIGs may soon be promoted to the rank of joint director. After 2001, the CBI stopped recruiting officers at the rank of deputy SP. The agency is now left with roughly 18 officers who were recruited as deputy superintendents and are still in service.

“Most of them are considered good investigators given their long experience of working in the CBI and it augurs well for the agency that one of them is becoming a JD...” said ML Sharma, former CBI special director.

Around half the CBI officers below the level of SP are direct recruits at the level of constable and sub-inspector. The rest of the posts are filled by officers brought in on deputation from paramilitary forces and state police. Senior posts, like the rank of SP and above, are filled by mostly by IPS officers, who come in on deputation for a tenure of four to seven years.

The CBI now recruits at the level of sub-inspector and constable. In the normal course, a subinspector may rise to the rank of SP by the time of retirement.

“Only exception was M Narayanan, who investigated Ramjanamboomi-Babri Masjid demolition case and also supervised probe into rape charges against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. He joined the agency as sub-inspector and retired as joint director in 2009...” said a second CBI officer on condition of anonymity.