CBI ex-chief Ranjit Sinha dies at 68
Sinha was said to be confirmed Covid +ve on Thursday
◗ IT IS understood that Ranjit Sinha tested positive for Covid-19 infection on Thursday and breathed his last at 4.30 am Friday.
Former CBI director Ranjit Sinha passed away in Delhi on Friday morning at the age of 68.
Though there has been no official word on the reason for his death yet, it is understood that he tested positive for Covid-19 infection on Thursday night and breathed his last at 4.30 am on Friday.
Sinha, a 1974-batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre who had cracked the coveted UPSC examination at the age of 21, headed the CBI for a controversial twoyear term in 2012 as its 26th chief during which the agency earned the sobriquet of “caged parrot”.
The scathing remarks by Justice RM Lodha were a result of Sinha’s ninepage affidavit to the Supreme Court giving details of his meetings with the then law minister Ashwani Kumar and other senior officers during which changes were made in the coal scam probe report submitted to the apex court.
◗ A 1974-batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre, Sinha had cracked the coveted UPSC examination at the age of 21
“Whatever the Supreme Court says is correct,” was his response to the reporters after the controversy.
Towards the fag end of his tenure, another controversy stuck him. A purported visitors’ diary with names of persons under the CBI scanner in coal and 2G scam surfaced in 2014. It showed that these people were allegedly frequenting his residence.
Sinha held several senior posts, including that of the CBI director and the director-general of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
The Supreme Court directed the then CBI chief to recuse himself from the 2G scam probe on PIL alleging that Sinha met accused at his residence.
The Supreme Court asked former CBI special director ML Sharma to carry out an inquiry into allegations. Taking note of Sharma’s report, the CBI registered an FIR against Sinha which remains under probe.
Known for making off the cuff remarks, Sinha during a drab conference on sports ethics attracted media spotlight when he said “If you cannot enforce the ban on betting, it is like saying ‘if you can’t prevent rape, you enjoy it’.”
It was in 1996, the Patna high court questioned his role in shielding the then RJD president Lalu Prasad in the fodder scam. Sinha was removed from the probe on high court’s orders.