The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Sunday appointed Karnataka Director General of Police Praveen Sood as the new Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation for a period of two years. His appointment was notified through an order by the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India.

“Approval of the Competent Authority, is hereby conveyed to the appointment of Praveen Sood, IPS-86 batch, as Director, CBI for a period of two years from the date of assumption of charge of the office vice Subhodh Kumar Jaiswal, consequent upon completion of his tenure,” the order read.

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The appointment comes a day after a high-level committee comprising the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India DY CHandrachud and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury met and shortlisted three senior IPS officers for the post.

Besides Sood, the other shortlisted candidates included Madhya Pradesh DGP Sudhir Saxena and Sudhir Saxena, a 1987-batch IPS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre and Taj Haasan, Director General, Fire Services, Civil Defence & Home Guards.

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Who is Praveen Sood?

An engineering graduate from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Sood is a 1986-batch Indian Police Service officer. Originally from Himachal Pradesh, Sood, a Karnataka cadre officer was appointed as the Commissioner of Police of Mysore City in 2004 and served till 2007.

He later went on to take charge as the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru city, and is credited with the launch of “Namma 100” an “Emergency Response System” for the citizens in distress, the “Suraksha” App and “Pink Hoyasala” managed by all-women cops, especially for the women and children in distress.

He was appointed the Karnataka DGP in 2020, superseding 1985-batch IPS officer Ashit Mohan Prasad. His other stints include Superintendent of Police, Bellary and Raichur before getting posted to Bangalore city as Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order. He also worked as principal secretary of Home Department; ADGP, Karnataka State Reserve Police and ADGP, Administration.

When DK Shivakumar called him ‘Nalayak’

It was in March this year when Sood came under the spotlight after Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar accused the DGP of harbouring a bias towards the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. On March 15, Shivakumar alleged that the DGP had been protecting leaders of the BJP while targetting leaders of Congress through legal proceedings.

“This DGP is nalayak (useless). Immediately, there should be a case against him. And he should be arrested. The election commission should remove him,” Shivakumar had then said, alleging that the top cop had registered “more than 25 cases” against Congress.

Shivakumar had also alleged that the DGP could even face arrest if Congress returns to power in Karnataka. Incidentally, Sood’s name was finalised for appointment by the high-level committee on the same day Congress registered a thumping win in the recently-concluded Karnataka elections, winning 135 seats in the 224-member state Assembly.

Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, also submitted a detailed dissent note opposing Sood’s candidature on the grounds that he was not part of the pool of IPS officers eligible to serve at the DGP level at the Centre.    

Sood, who is expected to take charge on May 25, succeeds Subhodh Kumar Jaiswal in the post. Jaiswal’s tenure ends on May 25.