Amar Pratap Singh
New Delhi: After bungling in the recent appointment of the Central Vigilance Commissioner, the government appears to have done well in ensuring a smooth transition in the Central Bureau of Investigation.
It has avoided last-minute confusion over who would head the premier investigation agency, a contrast from the embarrassment caused last time, when the outgoing director Ashwani Kumar’s appointment was announced minutes into the farewell dinner hosted for his predecessor, Vijay Shankar.
In the CBI, there is relief that an “insider” has been picked for the Director’s post from the three-member panel chosen by a high-powered committee.
The new CBI Chief, Amar Pratap Singh — a 1974-batch officer of the Jharkhand cadre — was Special Director in the agency for the past two years and in the reorganised set-up, was overseeing probes in CBI zones in Kolkata, Guwahati and Patna.
He was also heading other divisions of the agency — the Special Task Force investigating the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts; the Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency appointed for inquiring into the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, which many experts feel should be wound up; and the Special Crime Division, currently probing the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases and the Ayodhya and Mecca Masjid cases.
A low-profile, decorated officer (he received the Police Medal for meritorious service in 1991 and the President’s Medal for distinguished service in 2008), Singh has put in over 15 years of experience on the vigilance side.
This includes two previous stints in the CBI as well as a six-year tenure as the Chief Vigilance Officer in Indian Airlines.As Special Director, perhaps the most voluminous investigation he handled was the Ordnance Factory Board scam, in which chargesheets were filed a few months ago; while his most sensitive assignment was the Aarushi Talwar double murder case, which the CBI is yet to solve.
While he has an unobtrusive style of functioning, this post-graduate history student from St Stephens, Delhi, has earned himself the reputation of being a bold team leader.
Way back in 1977, he had earned Patna High Court kudos for preventing agitators from entering court premises during a Mandal demonstration, during the course of which he was also injured.
Four years later, he was posted as Superintendent of Police in Bhagalpur, in an effort to restore communal harmony and restore the morale of the police forces after the blindings.Interestingly, though he belongs to the Jharkhand cadre, Singh has never been posted in the state.
However, in his first stint as chief minister, Arjun Munda had picked Singh as his Officer on Special Duty, posted in Delhi. He held the post between July 2003 and April 2007. He has also served a stint in Meghalaya, as Inspector General of the State CID.
He takes over the reins of the CBI at a time when the agency is under constant gaze and attack of the media, as well as facing court scrutiny in several cases.
The Supreme Court has been critical of the pace of CBI investigations in the 2G Spectrum scam while the country is also watching the next moves of the agency in the Commonwealth Games-related cases and the Adarsh housing scam.The incumbent Director clearly has his task cut out for him.