Countdown begins for new ED Chief
Praveen Kumar may get temporary charge
Countdown has begun for the appointment of new Enforcement Director as the stretched term of Sanjay Kumar Mishra, is coming to an end on September 15. He is an officer of IRS-Income-Tax cadre of 1984 batch and stayed in the post for almost five years, a record of sorts.
The power corridors are flooded with speculations and wild guesses as the Centre had committed to follow a timeline to pick Mishra’s successor. Informed sources say that two names have been short-listed by the government from a short-listed panel of 10 officers. They include Pravin Kumar (IRS IT: 1987), Member CBDT and Seemanchal Dash (IRS IT: 1988), formerly Principal Special Director in ED and Adviser to ED & IMF.
Other names heard in the corridors of power are Pankaj Kumar Mishra (IRS IT: 1989), Rashmi Shukla (IPS: 1988: MH) and Rahul Navin, Special Director in ED are also in the reckoning. It is learnt that the government wants to re-brand ED during the election year and would like a low-profile officer as the Opposition parties have been harping on ED's misuse.
But the government is also keen that the new chief should be familiar with the working of taxation and related domain areas. A section vouches for the IRS officer as the next ED chief. as they have better knowledge of transaction trails and vast exposure to the PMLA framework. Though officers from other services like IAS, IPS have held this position in the past. Apparently, the New Delhi dispensation may surprise yet again on the name of Mishra’s successor.
