New director Rishi Kumar Shukla joins CBI, asks officers to 'go by the rulebook'

NEW DELHI: After taking charge as the new director of CBI, which is going through a phase of political criticism, bruised credibility, lackluster decision-making and internal trust deficit, Rishi Kumar Shukla on Monday asked the officers to “go by the rulebook”.
According to the sources, Shukla is also learnt to have expressed that CBI, with its resilience, is capable of coming out of the current situation with teamwork.
TOI spoke to some CBI officers who expressed happiness over Shukla taking over agency’s reigns and described him as a “very competent, genuine and a fair officer”.
Shuka emphasized that the CBI has a glorious tradition and has great esteem in the eyes of the public, with a lot of expectations from them. “Therefore, we must focus on professional skills,” he told the officers.
The seasoned Madhya Pradesh cadre 1983 batch IPS officer was on Saturday appointed as the new CBI director by a three-member panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has replaced Alok Verma, who was unceremoniously removed from the coveted post on January 10 following allegations of corruption against him.
Shukla has joined CBI at a time when it is under heavy attack by opposition political parties for being a puppet of ruling government at the centre and a sense of discontent among the junior officers over uncertainty in probes, court matters and even untimely transfers.
There is also the current tussle with West Bengal police, in which CBI was forced to approach the Supreme Court on Monday following its officers were detained by the local police.
The former director general of police of MP, Shukla has served in various positions during his long tenure of about 35 years in the IPS, including as SP of Damoh, Shivpuri, Mandsor; DIG; IGP and ADG. He has also worked in the Intelligence Bureau.
CBI said in a statement that “It was his endeavour all along to expedite the justice delivery system. Efforts taken by him in this regard led to the early conclusion of numerous important trials of heinous crimes resulting in award of exemplary punishment to guilty criminals.”
A post graduate in Philosophy, Shukla has been awarded President's police medal for distinguished service in 2007 and police medal for meritorious service in 1999.