Former CBI director, Vijay Shankar passed away on Tuesday following prolonged illness at the age of 76. As per his last wish, his mortals will be donated to AIIMS, his family informed.
Shankar had been admitted to a private hospital in Noida for quite some time.
A recipient of the prestigious President’s Police Medal for Distinguished and Meritorious Service, Shankar also served in the Uttar Pradesh Police and in Moscow under the Ministry of External Affairs.
Former CBI director Anil Sinha condoled Shankar’s demise, he said, “It is sad and unfortunate. We have lost a fine gentleman. An upright and courageous officer whom we knew for his sharp intellect and principled conduct. We deeply mourn his sad demise”
Shankar, a 1969-batch IPS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, served as the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from December 12, 2005, to July 31, 2008. During his tenure, he oversaw high-profile cases, including the notorious Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case.
As CBI’s additional director, he also supervised the investigation into the Telgi scam, and extradition of gangster Abu Salem and actor Monika Bedi from Portugal.
Before he was appointed as the CBI director, Shankar headed National Disaster Response Force, Civil Defence and Home Guards and served as inspector general in the BSF. He was also posted in Jammu and Kashmir at the peak of militancy in the 1990s.
