Rishi Kumar Shukla takes charge as CBI director

Senior IPS officer Rishi Kumar Shukla took over as CBI Director on Monday.

The agency is locked in a bitter battle with the West Bengal Police that spilt over to the political arena as Opposition targeted the Narendra Modi-led government.

Shukla's appointment was cleared on Saturday amid a dissent by Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who was the member of Selection Committee for CBI Director and he took over the office within two days.

His assuming the office comes at a time when CBI is locked in a tug of war with the West Bengal Police and administration over the agency's attempt to question Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in ponzi scam cases.

Shukla will have to devote more time on this issue in the initial days as the CBI has already approached the Supreme Court seeking its protection to question Kumar, whom it accused of destruction of evidence, and a contempt notice against administration for obstructing its working. The Supreme Court will hear the case on Tuesday.

Former Madhya Pradesh Director General of Police Shukla took charge of the CBI as its 28th Director from interim CBI chief M Nageshwar Rao. On January 30, he was transferred from the post of DGP by the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh and appointed as the chief of Madhya Pradesh Police Housing Corporation.

Shukla will have a tenure of two years from February 4. In the normal course, he would have retired in August 2020 but now he will leave the office only in February 2021 as the post of CBI Director has an assured tenure of two years.