First Muslim IB chief, new RAW head & PM's letter on CBI director

1977 batch IPS officer Syed Asif Ibrahim, who used to be a highly efficient private secretary to then railway minister Madhavrao Scindia, is set to become India’s next Intelligence Bureau chief. Ibrahim, who will take charge on December 31, is going to be the first Muslim officer to be elevated to the coveted IB director’s post. The PM-headed Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has also picked up…
Alok Joshi, a 1976 batch IPS officer from Haryana cadre as the new director of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
But what has been the talk of the corridors is Ibrahim’s appointment as new IB director as he would be surpassing four senior officers: 1976 batch Himachal cadre IPS RN Gupta, 1976 batch UT cadre IPS V Rajagopal, 1976 batch MP cadre IPS Yashovardhan Azad and 1977 batch West Bengal cadre IPS, S Jayaraman.
Ibrahim had also served as an OSD to Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, home minister in the V P Singh government, and was also a minister (coordination) in India’s high commission in London. The position of a minister in foreign mission is equivalent to a joint secretary in the Union government. Currently, Ibrahim is a special director in IB.
For the RAW chief post, only challenger to Alok Joshi was Amitabh Mathur, a 1977 batch IPS officer who has now been moved to Aviation Research Centre (ARC). Joshi had earlier served in Intelligence Bureau and Haryana Police.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has cleared confusion on the appointment of 1976 batch Bihar cadre IPS Ranjit Singh as the CBI director. Here is the text of the PM’s letter written to the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley: “I have received a letter dated 23 November, 2012 signed by Smt. Sushma Swaraj and yourself regarding the appointment of Director, CBI. As you are aware, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill 2011 is still awaiting passage in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill was referred to a Select Committee which has tabled its report today in the Rajya Sabha. Many changes have been suggested by the Select Committee which are required to be considered by the Government for introducing official amendments. After the Bill as amended is duly passed by the Rajya Sabha, it will be returned to the Lok Sabha for further consideration.
In the meanwhile, the tenure of the present incumbent on the post of Director, CBI is ending on 30 November, 2012. Even as we will make all possible efforts to enact the new law at the earliest, you would agree that a premier investigating agency like the CBI cannot be left without an administrative head pending the enactment. Under the circumstances the Government has, in public interest, made the appointment in accordance with the provisions of the CVC Act as presently applicable and the extant procedures, which had been set in motion much earlier.
The insinuation that the appointment was made to preempt the procedure recommended by the Select Committee is wholly unwarranted and devoid of any merit. I also refute the suggestion that the appointments to this post in the past by the UPA Government were motivated by collateral considerations.
In view of the above, the question of keeping the new appointment in abeyance does not arise.”