According to a government order published on Sunday, Praveen Sood, the director general of police for Karnataka, has been chosen to lead the CBI. After Subodh Kumar Jaiswal’s term ends on May 25, the 59-year-old has been appointed to the position for a period of two years from the date of taking over. A highlevel committee that includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, and Leader of the Opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury supported Praveen Sood’s nomination.

After Jaiswal, Sood is the senior-most Indian Police Service (IPS) officer in the nation. He is a member of the Karnataka cadre and was a member of the 1986 batch. Sood has a distinguished academic record. He graduated from Syracuse University in New York, the IIM in Bangalore, and the IIT in Delhi. The officer will now have a set two-year tenure instead of retiring in 2024. Previously serving as the superintendent of police for the districts of Bellary and Raichur, deputy commissioner of police (law and order), additional commissioner of police (traffic) and commissioner of police for Bengaluru City, Sood is now the director general of police in Karnataka. The IPS officer has also advised the Mauritius administration on police matters.

His efforts to use technology to enhance traffic management and deliver effective services to citizens have led to recognition from organisations like the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award in 2006 and the National E-Governance Gold Award for “Most Innovative Use of Technology for Traffic Management” in 2011.

Sood handled the difficult task of implementing the Criminal Tracking Network System in Karnataka for real-time monitoring and sharing of information by connecting police stations with the central network during his time serving as additional director general of police (computer wing).

DK Shivakumar, the chairman of the Karnataka Congress, referred to DGP Praveen Sood as a “nalayak” in March and promised to take action against him if his party was elected to power. DK Shivakumar, the party’s nominee for chief minister, helped the Congress party win Karnataka with a commanding margin. To take over as CBI director for the following two years, Praveen Sood will go to Delhi.

In March, DK Shivakumar claimed that the DGP in the state was in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He asserted that no cases were brought against BJP leaders but approximately 25 cases against Congress politicians were brought while Sood was in head of the Karnataka Police.