Having taken charge last week as director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Amar Pratap Singh’s plate is already full, with the agency engaged in several high-profile probes. But the 1974-batch Indian Police Service officer from the Jharkhand cadre is quite at home within the portals of the investigative agency, as he was its seniormost special director.
The 58-year-old Singh, who took over from Ashwini Kumar, has held several important positions in the CBI during his two stints.
Between 1987 and 1995, he was closely involved in a slew of headline-grabbing cases. Among the most significant of them is the investigation into the Harshad Mehta banking and stock market scam of 1992.
At the start of his career, Singh was put in charge of handling the often violent Mandal student agitation. In 1981, in the aftermath of the Bhagalpur blinding cases, he was posted as superintendent of police of the district. Just before he joined CBI again in 2009, Singh was handpicked by the Jharkhand chief minister to work in his secretariat as officer on special duty in Delhi.
He functioned as an advisor to the chief minister on all police matters as well as on police modernisation in particular. He was also tasked with following all pending proposals in the ministry of home affairs.
Singh, a post-graduate in history from St Stephen’s College, Delhi University, has been decorated with the Police Medal for Meritorious Service and the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service. Singh has also had a six-year stint with Indian Airlines as chief vigilance officer and previously served as additional director-general of the paramilitary Border Security Force.
Singh has a keen interest in sports. In 2001, was the manager of the Indian hockey team for the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament held in Malaysia. He also held the post of secretary, Sports Control Board at Indian Airlines.
