Vijay Shankar to be next CBI director

Vijay Shankar, an officer of the 1969 batch, will replace U S Misra as the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation. A formal announcement is likely to be issued on the return of President A P J Abdul Kalam from his one-day trip to Chandigarh and Punjab on Saturday evening.

From 2002-2004 he had worked as additional director in the CBI and handled important investigations during his nine-year-long tenure in the organisation.

The Cabinet committee for appointments gave its approval on his appointment on late Friday night.

In all, four senior IPS officers had been listed for the post, but what eventually went in his favour was his long association with the organisation.

An upright officer, Vijay Shankar assisted PC Sharma as additional director.

Shankar will have a fixed tenure of two years from the date of appointment.