TRIBUTE PAID TO RV RAJU, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY

TRIBUTE PAID TO RV RAJU, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY

Founder Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) R V Raju died at a private hospital  early on Thursday,21^st June,2012, after a prolonged illness.62-year-old Raju breathes his last at 3:40 am after being hospitalised for a brief period, hospital sources said.Since January this year, he was down with recurring pneumonia and had been admitted to the hospital a week ago for lung infection, sources said.He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
 
The soft-spoken Raju was appointed on January 19, 2009 as the first Chief of the NIA set up in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes.A 1975 batch IPS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, Raju handled the case of US citizen Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Headley.Before being appointed as NIA Chief, Raju was the Director General (Vigilance) of Jammu and Kashmir.
Considered as one of the finest officers, Raju was associated with the probes into Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, hijacking of Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar in 1999 and Naval war room leak.Serving as head of the Vigilance Bureau in Jammu and Kashmir earlier, Raju streamlined the department which was in a shambles due to militancy.His investigation had brought to light the alleged misappropriation by Maulvi Ifthikar Hussain Ansari, a formerminister in Mufti Mohd Sayeed's cabinet.
 Radha Vinod Raju, founding Director-General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and key member of the special investigation team which probed Rajiv Gandhi assassination, died in Kochi on Thursday. Former colleagues mourned Mr. Raju. “He was an exceptional police officer but more important, he was an exceptional human being,” said Gurbachan Jagat, former Director-General of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and now Manipur Governor. Born in Kochi on July 27, 1949, Mr. Raju worked as officer in the Bank of India before being selected to the Indian Police Service in 1975. He was assigned to the J&K cadre, and he began an illustrious career that won him the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1992, the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 1999, a Director-General’s Commendation Certificate in January 2000 and the Sher-e-Kashmir Medal for Meritorious Services in 2003.

Prof. John Kurakar