As Subodh Kumar Jaiswal completes his tenure on May 25, the government has appointed Karnataka's Director General of Police (DGP), Praveen Sood, to be the next Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Background & education
Originally from Himachal Pradesh, Sood completed his graduation from IIT Delhi before joining IPS in 1986.
He took a sabbatical from IPS in 2003 to pursue post-graduation in public policy and management from IIM Bangalore and Maxwell School of Governance, Syracuse University, New York.
Beginning his career as an Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mysore in 1989 and went on to serve as Superintendent of Police in Bellary and Raichur before landing the post of Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order in Bengaluru.
He was appointed Karnataka DGP in January 2020 and will soon begin his tenure as CBI Director.
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Key achievements and awards
Praveen Sood received the Chief Gold Medal for Excellence in Service in 1996, Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2002 and President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2011.
For his contributions in road safety and traffic management, Sood was awarded the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award in 2006 and later in 2011, the national E-Governance Gold Award for the 'Most innovative use of technology for traffic management'.
Upon Sood's to Mysore as Commissioner of Police from 2004 to 2007, where he led a successful operation in apprehending two members of the Al Badr group. Fahad, also known as Mohammed Koya, and Mohammed Ali Hussain, alias Jahangir, were both convicted of acts of war against the nation, in violation of the Explosive Substances Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Staunch supporter of tech
According to Sood's personal blog, he is a "staunch supporter of the use of technology" in traffic and has supported many tech development initiatives throughout his career.
In Bengaluru, as Commissioner of Police, he also launched 'Namma 100', an upgraded emergency response helpline based on the 999 helpline model in London.
In the same blog, Sood emphasises his role in launching 'Suraksha-Bengaluru City Police' app and 'Pink Hoyasala', patrolling vehicles that are managed by women cops especially for women and children in distress.
Sood also worked to implement Crime & Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) throughout Karnataka to create direct networks between the state and Delhi, creating a more efficient data entry and information retrieval system for police officers in real-time.
Appointment
IPS officer Praveen Soon was approved by the Appointments Committee of Cabinets (ACC) on May 14.
According to a report by The Hindu, Sood's name was not among the names originally short-listed for the position and he was set to retire in May 2024. With this appointment, however, Sood is set to serve till at least May 2025, unless the tenure is extended.
The panel comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury met on Saturday to shortlist three senior IPS officers for the post.
This list included Punjab cadre officer Dinkar Gupta and Madhya Pradesh cadre officer Sushir Saxena, along with IPS Praveen Sood.
Sood will be the third IPS officer of the Karnataka cadre to be appointed as CBI Director after Joginder Singh and D R Karthikeyan.
The appointment is for a fixed tenure of two years with an extension of up to five years.
Controversy with D K Shivakumar
DK Shivakumar, the President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee had called Sood 'Nalayak' (translated as 'Useless') on March 14 when addressing reporters before the Convention of Tigala community members.
Shivakumar claimed that Sood had an affiliation with BJP and had, allegedly, filed more than 25 cases against Congress, while protecting BJP leaders, the party in power at the time.
He promised to take action against Sood once Congress was in power in the state. Going on to say that Sood should be arrested
