New Delhi: Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma was today appointed Director of CBI, country's premier probe agency.
His name was cleared by a three-member selection panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and comprising Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar and Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge as members.
The post of CBI director was lying vacant for over one month following Anil Sinha's retirement on December 2. At present, Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana is the interim director of the investigating agency.
Verma, a 1979 batch IPS officer of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre, took over as Delhi Police Commissioner from February 29, 2016.
59-year-old Verma, who belongs to Delhi, has worked in various positions in Delhi Police, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Mizoram and in the Intelligence Bureau.
Before being appointed as Delhi Police Commissioner, he was Director General of Tihar Prisons here.
As CBI chief, he will have a fixed two-year tenure.
Verma, who is the 27th Director (including two acting chief) of the CBI, has never worked in the central probe agency.