FORMER CBI Director Joginder Singh, under whose watch the investigative agency probed cases like Bofors and fodder scam, died here on Friday after a prolonged illness. He was 77. The cremation is likely to be held at the Lodhi Crematorium on Saturday. Singh was selected for the IPS at the age of 20. After serving in various positions, the Karnataka cadre officer assumed charge of the CBI in 1996 when investigation into the hawala scandal was at its peak. His tenure lasted 11 months. Watch What Else is Making News The high point of Singh’s tenure came in Berne in January 1997 when he received secret Swiss bank documents relating to the alleged Rs 650 million Bofors pay-offs. He also handled the St Kitts and securities scam cases. Singh also served as Inspector General in the CRPF, and led a number of delegations to the UK, USA, Germany and France among other nations on behalf of the government. He authored books like ‘Make a Way Where There is None’, ‘50 Days to Top’ and ‘Inside CBI’ among others. A flamboyant officer who routinely made headlines, Singh gave the go-ahead for the prosecution of Lalu Prasad, then the serving chief minister of Bihar and a vital ally of the coalition government at the Centre, in the fodder scam. That decision was widely believed to be his undoing as he was transferred a few weeks later.
