Rakesh Asthana appointed as Interim Director of CBI

Senior IPS officer Rakesh Asthana was on 3 December 2016 appointed as the Interim Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He was given this additional charge by the Union Government following retirement of Anil Sinha.

This was the first time in last 10 years and second time in the CBI’s history that no new Director was named to succeed an incumbent.

About Rakesh Asthana
• He is a 1984 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Gujarat Cadre.
• Before this appointment, he was serving as Additional Director in the Central Bureau of Investigation itself.
• He served as the commissioner of police of Vadodara and Surat region.
• He headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) while it was probing the Godhra train incident of February 2002.

About Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
• It is the chief investigative police agency in India and derives its power from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
• It was established in 1941 as the Special Police Establishment and was later renamed as CBI in 1963.
• It has its headquarters in New Delhi and serve the motto of 'Industry, Impartiality, Integrity'.
• It is headed by Director who should be an IPS officer of DGP rank. The director is selected as per the provisions of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Act, 2003.
• The CBI Director is selected by a collegium comprising Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and Leader of Opposition or leader of the largest party in opposition in Lok Sabha.