Odisha-Born IPS Officer In Race For CBI Director’s Post

Bhubaneswar: The Prime Minister is scheduled to preside over a high-level meeting on May 24 to select the new director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will also attend the meeting.

Ahead of the meeting, the Home Ministry has submitted a probable list of seven officers, including 1985 batch Odisha-born Kerala cadre IPS officer Loknath Behera, to the selection committee.

Sources said the six other officers named in the list of probables are CBI acting chief Praveen Sinha, Director General of Border Security Force (BSF) Rakesh Asthana, Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) Yogesh Chander Modi, Director General of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Subodh Kant Jaiswal, Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Surjeet Singh Deswal and Director General of Uttar Pradesh Police Hitesh Chandra Awasthi.

At present, Behera is posted as the DGP of Kerala. Earlier, he had served as the ASP of  Alappuzha, DCP of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi Commissioner of Police and IG at police headquarters.

After his promotion to the rank of additional director general of police (ADGP), he was posted as the Director of Vigilance.

Apart from this, Behera had a 10-year stint in the CBI as the SP and DIG from 1995 to 2005 and a six-year stint in the NIA.