Bihari bureaucrats rule at Centre

Monopoly

Many Bihar cadre officers are now holding top positions in various departments. When the 1974-batch IPS officer Ranjit Sinha took charge as CBI director from A P Singh, Sinha became another Bihar cadre officer to hold key posts in the country.

Already, one of the most powerful bureaucrats, R K Singh, the Union Home Secretary, is a 1975-batch Bihar cadre IAS officer. Known for his no-nonsense approach, Singh was the man who meticulously planned Kasab’s execution with clinical precision.

In fact, before he shifted to Delhi on deputation, he, as Road Construction Commissioner, had changed the face of Bihar by laying new roads across the state – a move which eventually fetched Nitish rich electoral dividends. Before being selected by Chidambaram as the next home secretary, Singh was secretary, defence production.

The new CBI chief Ranjit Sinha who went on central deputation in 2004 was supposed to retire on March 31, 2013, after his tenure as the Director-General (DG) of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police would have ended. But following his appointment as the director of the premier investigating agency he will continue to serve for another two years since as per the rules the new incumbent is appointed to the post for a minimum period of two years.

Besides Sinha, another Bihar cadre IPS officer of 1977 batch Arun Choudhary is the Director-General of Sashastra Seema Bal. He was earlier the DG of Central Industrial Security Force.

Defence secretary S K Sharma is also Bihar cadre IAS officer.

Yet another police officer Shafi Alam, also a 1977 batch IPS from Bihar, is holding the post of DG of National Crime Records Bureau. Alam, a batchmate of Bihar DGP Abhayanand, was allowed to go on central deputation earlier this year. Similarly, Nehchal Sandhu, a 1973 batch IPS officer from Bihar, headed the Intelligence Bureau till recently. 

P M Nair, a 1978 batch Bihar cadre IPS officer, who was earlier posted as Special DG, CRPF to monitor operations against Maoists, is currently posted as Director-General of the National Disaster Response Force. His batch-mate from Bihar cadre R R Verma is heading the North East Police Academy.

SEBI chairman U K Sinha is a 1976-batch Bihar cadre IAS officer. Before taking over as chief of the market regulatory body, Sinha had served in the Union Ministry of Finance in the Banking Division as well as Capital Market Division. He also served as chairman of UTI Mutual Fund, where he was credited with completely transforming the UTI and making it a vibrant asset management company.