New Delhi: Praveen Sood, a 1986 batch IPS officer of Karnataka cadre, has taken over as Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India's premier investigation agency. After taking over the charge, he interacted with the officers of the agency.

Sood, who was earlier serving as Director General of Police, Karnataka, has held various key positions during his long tenure of about 37 years in the IPS. These include as SP of Bellary and Raichur; Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Bengaluru City; Commissioner of Police, Mysuru City and Bengaluru City; ADGP; Principal Secretary, Home, DGP, Internal Security, and DGP, CID.

In an exclusive interview to Navneet Anand, Editor-In-Chief, Bureaucrats India as Karnataka DGP, Sood had said: “Policing is no longer just about maintaining law and order, safeguarding and protecting public properties and installation. Cyber crime is a serious challenge for us. In fact, policing now has become a multifaceted challenge."

He had said: "Now we have to deal with financial crime and cheating. Of course, we have to deal with problems like terrorism and Naxalism, which have not eliminated. Social media is like a double edged sword. It has helped us in connecting with the people fast, while bad elements are using them for their nefarious designs. New problems are cropping up before the police every day."

It is worth mentioning that Sood has also worked as the advisor to Government of Mauritius.He has supervised the investigation of high profile cases involving high net-worth individuals and cases having inter-state and international ramifications and also investigation and detection of crime including Cyber Crime, Information Technology, etc. 

Specifically, Sood worked for strengthening of CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems) and ICJS (Interoperable Criminal Justice System) networks in Karnataka along with the judiciary, a pioneering exercise in crime control and management.

Sood is a Graduate, B Tech, in Civil Engineering from IIT, Delhi; Post Graduation in Public Policy and Management form IIM, Bengaluru and Maxwell School of Governance, Syracuse University, New York.

He has been decorated with the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2011 and Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2002. He has been awarded the Chief Minister’s Gold Medal for Excellence in Service in 1996; National e-Governance Gold Award for 'Most innovative use of technology for Traffic Management' in the year 2011 and Prince Michael International Road Safety Award in the year 2006 for contribution towards road safety and traffic management. /BI/