India
Karnal Singh of the Enforcement Directorate, who will be retiring on October 27, may not get an extension which was expected earlier
New Delhi: While the NDA government has started a clean-up drive in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the next stop for the Narendra Modi-led government is the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
According to sources, Karnal Singh, who will be retiring on October 27, may not get an extension which was expected earlier. Sources have confirmed that the government has sought names for the next chief, though nothing was finalised till Tuesday.
Sources have also confirmed that Rajeshwar Singh, the joint director of the ED, has also gone on leave. Singh had levelled allegations on finance secretary Hasmukh Adhia. Karnal Singh forwarded the complaint to the revenue secretary.
Rajeshwar Singh had raised questions to Adhia over his promotion. "Why do you disregard their opinion? Is it possible for me to have managed all of them over a period of time,” he asked Adhia while giving his appraisal records of 20 years, where he scored “outstanding”.
Karnal Singh, a 1984 batch IPS officer of UT cadre, was given additional charge of ED chief in August 2015 as the government curtailed the tenure of incumbent director Rajan S. Katoch. Karnal Singh in October 2016 became chief of ED with a fixed tenure of two years. His tenure has remained uncontroversial. He was among a few IPS officers who had worked on posts majorly given to IAS officers. It is expected that GC Murmu, a 1985 batch IAS officer, will be next ED chief.
It is also expected that almost half a dozen transfers will be done if new chief joins the ED.
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