Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma will take over as the next director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the government said today, ending the two-month-long speculation as well as the controversy over the appointment of Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as the interim director of the investigating agency.
Verma, a 1979-batch Indian Police Service officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, was appointed as the Delhi police chief in February last year.
His tenure as CBI Director will be of two years.
He had previously served as the director general of Tihar Jail and the police chief of Mizoram.
A three-member panel, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had met on Monday to select the next chief of the CBI.
The post of CBI director has lying vacant for over one month following Anil Sinha's retirement on December 2. A list of about 45 eligible IPS officers was sent to the Prime Minister's Office for consideration as the next CBI director.
The selection committee has Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Chief Justice of India or his nominee as its members besides Prime Minister.
The selection committee met on Monday, over a month after a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court challenging the appointment of RK Asthana as acting director.
An officer of 1984-batch, Asthana was elevated as the Additional Director in the agency on when CBI Special Director RK Dutta, who was reportedly among the frontrunners for the top post, was shifted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as a Special Secretary.
The Centre has already briefed Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who will then inform the Supreme Court that Verma has been chosen for the post.
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