Acting CBI chief a controversial choice
Acting CBI director M. Nageswara Rao is a post graduate in chemistry from Osmania University in Hyderabad.
Before joining police service, Rao studied at the Madras Indian Institute of Technology. He was additional directorgeneral of Odisha Police and later served as Chennai’s zonal Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) head. Rao was the first officer in Odisha to use DNA fingerprinting technology in a criminal investigation.
As head of the Odisha Fire Service Department, he received the Chief Minister’s Award for his contribution during cyclones Phailin in 2013 and Hudhud in 2014. Rao later went on to become deputy inspector-general and inspectorgeneral in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). He also received the President’s Police Medal for Meritorious Service.
However, soon after his appointment as CBI’s interim chief, a set of allegations were levied against him. He is accused of not carrying out proper investigations into a money laundering case involving VGN Developers in Chennai.
Due to Rao’s “lack of cooperation”, CBI’s Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) failed to conduct any searches in the houses of the accused. The ACB said Rao had instructed the investigating team to file a closure report in the case. In 2016, Rao was accused of misappropriating nearly Rs30 million (Dh1.5 million) in the purchase of yellow uniforms for fire officials in Odisha. Auditors revealed that there had been no approval from the Home Department for the introduction of the yellow uniforms.