Mamata Banerjee picks officer who lost out in race for CBI top job as adviser

NEW DELHI: Rina Mitra, the 1983-batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre who lost out in the race for the CBI director's post, was appointed by the Mamata Banerjee government as principal advisor (internal security) on Tuesday.


Mitra, who retired on January 31, was special secretary (internal security) with the ministry of home affairs (

MHA

).

Confirming the developments in New Delhi, Mitra described her newest assignment as "homecoming". She told TOI, "Yes, I have been appointed as the principal advisor, internal security. It is a homecoming of sorts for me." Mitra, however, refused to comment on her CBI tenure and the fact that she was overlooked for the agency top post. "It is a closed chapter for me. I do not want to delve on it," she said.

Mitra's Bengal assignment comes in the wake of a turf war between the central agencies and the state police, which has now reached the Supreme Court. The Mamata Banerjee government has also withdrawn the "consent" clause for CBI to probe in Bengal, which means only those cases assigned by the high court or the Supreme Court and ongoing probes registered before the consent was withdrawn, can be probed by the central agency.

Given the fact that Mitra has spent close to six years with the CBI and a significant number of years with the MHA, the state government feels her induction as an advisor will be "invaluable".