YC Modi, who probed Gujarat riot cases, becomes new NIA chief

Senior IPS officer YC Modi, who was part of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team that probed the 2002 Gujarat riot cases, has been made the Director General of the National Investigation Agency on Monday.

He was a part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the Gujarat riots cases in August 2010 and remained part of the team till July 2012. The SIT had cleared Narendra Modi, who at that time was Gujarat's Chief Minister, in the Gulbarg Society massacre case.

YC Modi, who is the special director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at present, has investigated three important cases involving post-Godhra riots - Gulbarg Society, Naroda Patiya, Naroda Gam.

He was also part of the CBI team which investigated the Haren Pandya Murder Case. Reportedly, Pandya, former home minister of Gujarat, had revealed to a magazine in May 2002 that on the night of February 27, 2002, Narendra Modi had held a meeting in his residence in which he instructed the attending bureaucrats and police officers to allow “people to vent their frustration and not come in the way of the Hindu backlash.”

Another senior IPS officer, Rajni Kant Misra, has been appointed director general of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved YC Modi's appointment as director general of the NIA, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.

ACC has also approved the appointment of Modi as officer on special duty (OSD) in NIA with immediate effect to ensure a smooth takeover.

He will take over from Sharad Kumar after he completes his tenure on October 30, he will hold the post till his superannuation, i.e. May 31, 2021, the order from the Department of Personnel and Training said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s loyalists and aides are now getting appointed in key government departments and agencies. Many of these names have also figured in investigations in crucial cases like the 2002 Gujarat riots. It seems like these postings are rewards for those who saw Modi through during his most trying days as Gujarat Chief Minister.

“The Prime Minister's fascination for bureaucrats from Gujarat was evident as 20 such officers were brought to Delhi within a year of his taking charge in May 2014. He trusts bureaucrats from Gujarat more than his ministerial colleagues,” The Telegraph quoted a senior IPS officer posted in North Block.

Earlier, the Narendra Modi government appointed Rakesh Asthana as acting CBI director a Gujarat cadre IPS officer. Rakesh Asthana, a 1984 batch IPS officer, had as inspector-general overseen the initial probe into the Godhra train burning that culminated in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Appointment of Y C Modi has created a buzz on Twitter: