CBI facing shortfall of officers: Director

Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh), March 23 (IANS) India's premier investigation agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is facing a shortfall of officers, the agency's director revealed at a function in the CBI Academy here Friday.

'The CBI is facing a shortfall of officers. Twenty-five percent posts are lying vacant. But despite the increasing load of investigations, especially specialized crimes such as cyber crimes and financial scams, everything is being tackled very competently by our staffers, given their superior training,' CBI Director Amar Pratap Singh told mediapersons on the sidelines of the 15th batch investiture ceremony of CBI sub-inspectors.

He further added: 'The government has sanctioned Rs.one crore for the training and Rs.four crore for the modernization of the CBI academy, which would help the CBI in dealing with crime cases effectively. Although we are acquiring officers from other departments, the agency needs its own staff trained right from the start and efforts are being made in this direction.'

Singh also spoke about the latest state-of-the-art training being provided to CBI sleuths. 'In recent times, the CBI sleuths are being given international exposure. CBI officers are sent to foreign countries on official assignments and training. On the other hand, officers of other agencies, including Interpol get trained at the CBI academy. Hence the work culture has given CBI officers modern, dynamic exposure unlike the traditional policing of previous years, which has become obsolete now.'