All you need to know about the previous CBI Director Alok Verma

Senior IPS officer Alok Verma is all set to take over as the Director of India's Central Bureau of Investigation. Here is all you need to know about his appointment.

Senior IPS officer Alok Kumar Verma is all set to take over as the Director of India's Central Bureau of Investigation. His appointment was cleared by a panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Verma, who took over as Delhi's Police Commissioner less than a year ago, will fill a position that had been lying vacant for over a month following Anil Sinha's retirement on December 

Verma will serve as CBI's 27th director (including two acting chiefs) and his tenure as CBI Director will span two years. He is from Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories cadre.

1. Verma's name was shortlisted from a list of 45 candidates, and the two other top contenders for the role included Rupak Kumar Dutta, a senior official from the Union Home Ministry, and Satish Mathur, the Director General of Maharashtra Police.
2. Verma's appointment was green-flagged by a three-member panel including the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India JS Khehar and Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. Kharge reportedly was not in support of Verma's appointment, saying, "selection must be made according to law, merit and seniority."
3. Congress, who has the right to record its dissent against Verma's appointment, supported former CBI officer RK Datta for the role, in light of his experience of more than 17 years in the agency.
4. One of the senior most officers in the country today, Verma was to retire from his work as the Capital's top cop in July this year. He has, in the past, handled 24 posts, including the director general of Tihar prisons, the police chief of Mizoram and the joint and special commissioner of the Delhi Police crime branch between August 2007 and December 2008.
5. As the director general of Tihar prisons, Verma had to take heat from Home Minister Rajnath Singh after the airing of the controversial BBC Documentary 'India's Daughter', which included an eye-raising interview from December 16 Delhi gangrape accused Mukesh. Though the permission for the interview was granted by the then DG Vimla Mehra, Rajnath rounded Verma and asked for a detailed report on the controversy.
   
6. When he took over the Delhi Police PC, Verma aimed to make the city a safer place. His tenure as police chief so far has been without any controversy. However, he is taking CBI at a time when opposition parties are accusing the government of using the probe agency to "settle political scores".
7. One of the highlights of his tenure as the Capital's top cop was his successful push for the promotion of over 26,000 officers - most of whom had not been promoted in over two decades. While speaking to ANI, Verma asserted that constables and head constables were the spine of Delhi Police and needed a morale boost. He explained that move would help speed up investigations of pending cases.
8. In his first address to the city's police force, Verma said his doors were always open for the common man. He also appealed to personnel to stay away from "corruption, rudeness and barbarism."
9. According to a report in Hindustan Times, Verma does not believe in micromanagement, and focused on meeting the Delhi Police top brass himself.
10. Verma is known to be media-shy and stayed away from interviews during his tenure as Delhi's police commissioner. He even chose to skip the tradition of new police chiefs addressing media on their first day of the job. Verma is also known to keep his social media activity limited.