Prime Minister Modi-led committee to select the next CBI chief today

File image of the CBI headquarters

A high-powered committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet on May 24 to appoint the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Chief Justice of India Justice NV Ramana, and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary are also part of the panel. The meeting is expected to take place at 7 pm at Prime Minister’s residence, according to reports.

CBI’s Additional Director Praveen Sinha has been the interim chief of the premier agency since February 3 when Rishi Kumar Shukla completed his tenure.

YC Modi, 1984 batch IPS officer and currently posted as Director General of National Investigation Agency, Rakesh Asthana, also 1984-batch IPS officer, posted as Director General of Border Security Force are among the top contenders for the post, reports said.

The list of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers from 1984 to 1987 batches has been given to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) after clearance by the Home Ministry (MHA) and department of personnel and training (DoPT), they said.

Among others, 1985-batch IPS officer Subodh Jaiswal, posted as Director General of Central Industrial Security Force, Loknath Behera, also from 1985-batch who is currently Director General of Police, Kerala, and 1985-batch IPS officer HC Awasthi, the Uttar Pradesh police chief, are also in the race, according to the reports.

The position of CBI director had courted a controversy in 2018 after the bitter feud between then CBI director Alok Verma and the then special director Rakesh Asthana in 2018. Asthana was moved out of the CBI amid the spat that saw both him and Verma trade corruption allegations against each other. Asthana, however, got a clean chit from the CBI in February 2020.