Karnataka DGP Praveen Sood to take over as CBI chief

Karnataka director general of police (DGP) Praveen Sood will be the next director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a period of two years, the appointments committee of the Union Cabinet said on Sunday. The 1986- batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer will replace Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, whose two-year tenure as CBI chief will end on May 25.

“Approval of the competent authority is hereby conveyed to the appointment of Praveen Sood, IPS, (KN:86) as Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), for period of two years from the date of assumption of charge vice Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, IPS (MH:85) consequent upon the completion of his tenure,” the department of personnel and training said in an order.

Born in 1964, Sood, who graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, started his career in the Indian Police Service as assistant superintendent of police, Mysore in 1989. He served as superintendent of police, Bellary and Raichur before being posted as deputy commissioner of police, law and order, Bangalore city. In 1999, he proceeded to foreign deputation as police advisor to the government of Mauritius for three years .

Sood has also previously served stints as principal secretary, Home Department, Karnataka, commissioner of police, Bengaluru city, and director general of police, CID, Economic Offences & Special Units. He was appointed as the Karnataka DGP in 2020.

He courted controversy in March when senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar slammed him for allegedly favouring the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state. The state Congress chief called the DGP ‘Nalayak’ and said that the Congress will take strict action against him, after coming to power. The Congress on Saturday registered a resounding victory in the Assembly elections in the state.

HT reported on Saturday that a panel comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury met on Saturday to decide the name of next CBI director, with Sood being the front runner.

Outgoing CBI director, Jaiswal, a 1985-batch Maharashtra-cadre IPS officer, had taken over the reins of the CBI on May 26, 2021. One of the key cases investigated by CBI during his tenure is the Delhi excise policy case, in which former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was questioned. Jaiswal was the Maharashtra DGP before joining the central agency.