Asthana tipped to head CBI, others in race too
The Centre has initiated the process for the appointment of a fullfledged CBI director, and sources said a final decision will be in a day or two. The government had on February 3 appointed Praveen Sinha, a 1988batch Gujarat cadre IPS officer, as CBI acting chief. He is now posted as CBI additional director. While several names are doing the rounds, Mr Rakesh Asthana, a Gujarat cadre IPS officer who is now director-general of the BSF, is seen as the front-runner.
Besides him, several senior IPS officers of the 1984, 1985 and 1986 batches are in the running.
The Central government has reportedly initiated the process for the appointment of a fullfledged CBI director. Final decision, sources said, will be taken in a day or two.
The government on February 3 appointed Praveen Sinha, a 1988batch Gujarat cadre IPS officer, as the acting chief of the CBI. Mr Sinha is currently posted as additional director in the CBI. While several names are doing the rounds, Gujarat cadre IPS officer and currently director general (DG) of the Border Security Force (BSF), Rakesh Asthana, is the front-runner for the post of the next CBI chief.
According to sources, several other senior IPS officers of the 1984, 1985 and 1986 batch are also in the running for the top post, including Y.C. Modi, who is currently heading the NIA, Arun Kumar, director general (DG) of the Railway Protection Force and Rakesh Asthana (DG, BSF). Besides, names of Kerala cadre IPS officer Loknath Behra and H.C. Awasthi, DG (Uttar Pradesh), are also doing the rounds, sources said.
The CBI director is chosen by a high-powered committee of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Chief
Justice of India. “The high-powered committee is expected to meet in a day or two. The committee will appointment a fullfledged CBI director”, sources said.
The CBI recently gave clean chit to Mr Asthana in the Gujarat-based pharma company Sterling Biotech bribery case. Earlier, he was cleared by the CBI last March in another bribery case, linked to the Kanpur-based meat exporter Moin Qureshi.