RISHI Kumar Shukla Appointed CBI Boss

THE government on Saturday appointed former Madhya Pradesh Director General of Police (DIG) Rishi Kumar Shukla as the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)   ending speculation on who will head India’s premier investigation and prosecution body headquartered in New Delhi. The post remained vacant after controversial removal of Alok Kumar Verma as CBI Director. According to a an order  issued by  the Personnel  Ministry , the appointment of 58-year-old  Shukla, a 1983-batch IPS officer, will be for a fixed tenure of two years. The appointment of Shukla, who was removed as Madhya Pradesh Police chief earlier this week by the new Congress dispensation in the state, triggered a fresh war of words between the government and the Opposition party. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, a member of the PM Narendra Modi headed   panel that Okayed the appointment, sent a dissent note to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the selection criterion was diluted in violation of law and Supreme Court judgments. However, Union minister Jitendra Singh claimed that Kharge tried to “manipulate” the criteria with the ulterior motive of accommodating some of his preferred officers. Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, who is part of the committee along with PM Modi and Kharge, had fully endorsed the objective criteria applied for selecting the head. Kharge’s main objection was to the inclusion of investigation experience only, and not experience in investigating anti-corruption cases, in the criteria.  Shukla takes charge of the country’s premier investigation agency at a time it has been grappled with controversies. He will take over the charge of CBI from M Nageshwar Rao, who is working as the interim chief of the probe agency. Shukla is at present chairman of Madhya Pradesh Police Housing Corporation in Bhopal. His appointment came after the high-level selection committee headed which met twice in the last nine days to select the name from a list of over 70 candidates for the investigating agency’s topmost position. “I am happy with my new assignment. I will try to give my best”, he told the media in his reaction to his new posting. Shukla has a spotless career in police service and known for his forthrightness and skill in crisis management, his colleagues say, The Deccan Chronicle reports. .“He has a prompt solution to any crisis situation. His colleagues approach him without any hesitation for a solution whenever they face a crisis situation. He never interferes in works of his juniors”, a senior IPS officer of ADG rank told The Deccan Chronicle in Bhopal. A hockey player in his college days, Shukla always believed in team work and known as great motivational leader who loved to lead from the front. He had deftly handled the farmers’ stir in the state in 2018 by ensuring a totally violence free agitation. The peasant unrest in 2017 in Madhya Pradesh had gone violent leading to death of six farmers in police firing. “All through his career in police service, he has remained non-controversial. This is his USP”, one of his colleagues recalled.