The Memories – that will endure

Big Fish.  A nondescript movie from long ago, very dissimilar to what we are experiencing, yet so apt for the moment. Who was this man that so many loved and admired? What were his qualities that he never spoke about, yet had so much of an impact on all around him? Have we understood all that was special about him?

The movie is about a grown up son and his dying father. The son has grown up listening to father’s stories from his eventful life - of wondrous places, brave acts and fabulous people. The son – unsure if these stories were myth or reality – comes to his father’s death bed, struggling to put everything together and understand who his father really was. The penultimate scene is a wonderful one, where everything falls in place. It is his father’s funeral, and all the protagonists from his father’s many stories have come to pay their respect. It is then that he realizes that all the surreal, the bizarre, the fantastic stories were all indeed true – and what a truly great person his father was. The many people he helped, his brave acts and the many lives he touched. When I entered the house, I was reminded of this scene. The many police officers, movie personalities, eminent citizens, old friends and grieving family members were all testimony of a larger than life person. The many lives that he touched, the countless people he helped, the numerous friends he had, all clamored loudly through the silence in the house. While we had heard a few vignettes, the thronging mourners spoke of the volumes that we never heard. Each had something to tell – of bravery, of love, of loyalty, of compassion, of devotion. So many stories, of this multi-faceted man, that he was too humble to tell and we were too busy to ask. Amazing episodes from the life of this wonderful man, whom we had all come to love, admire and respect. And now that he is not amongst us, we might never hear these wonderful chapters. He wanted to write a book to share his experiences, but now, memories is all we will have to hold on to.

In the last scene the son completes his father’s final story. By now, the son knows that his father is a unique person and he wants his father’s last act to be memorable. The son carries his father to the lake, where he – magically – morphs into a big fish and swims away happily …. cheered on by all who shared his life, as his son looks on proudly.  A happy ending to a life well lived. It is said that our life must be evaluated only when we die. The emotions, respect and adulation were a testament to a life spent helping others. As we bid you goodbye, we wish you would have chosen to stay a bit longer. But as we look on, happy to have shared a small part of your life, and see you gently glide away, we know you will always be in our midst and continue to inspire us. We cannot be sad. Yours was a life to celebrate and to emulate.

“A man tells his stories so many times that he becomes the stories. They live on after him, and in that way he becomes immortal”

Venky Nayar

He Lives On

 Radhavinod Raju

 (27 July 1949-21 June 2012)

                 Though he was well-known and came with a formidable reputation of solving the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, FORCE first got to know Radhavinod Raju in July 2006. He was then the additional director general of Jammu and Kashmir police. For a mere three year old magazine, getting senior bureaucrats or serving officers to give interviews was not simple.

But Raju was an officer in a different class. Simply based on a few old issues, he agreed to answer FORCE questions over the email. Not having met the journalist sending him the questions, he did not fear

misrepresentation. Later he said that not only was he confident his words could not be twisted, he also felt he could trust the publication.

FORCE sent him a congratulatory email once he became the first director general of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and he promptly replied but declined a meeting explaining that it would not be appropriate. No mail sent to him went unanswered. Perhaps, he believed that saying things upfront worked better than hedging.

FORCE finally met him in March 2011 upon his retirement from NIA. Having settled in Cochin, instead of looking for post-retirement rehabilitation with the government of India, he was in Delhi for a seminar. Within minutes of the meeting he agreed to write for FORCE, though he was not sure he would be able to do so every month. But not only did he write every month, he needed neither an idea for the subject of his article nor reminders of deadlines. When FORCE asked him for a short biographical sketch to go with his debut column, he only mentioned his tenures in JKP, CBI and NIA, leaving out assignments which helped build his reputation.

The news of his death came as a shock. Despite ailing for a while, he neither missed a deadline nor made a mention about his condition. Unfortunately, FORCE did not get the opportunity to interact more closely with him. We only knew him through his thoughts and writings. But here is what two people who have worked with him and known him closely have to say about him.

I first met Radhavinod Raju, exactly a year ago, in Cambridge, Mass, where we were co-participants in a Harvard workshop. I was struck by his warm, simple and straightforward demeanour and we struck a few common chords; he had served many years in J&K, where I grew up, and I lived in Goa, where he started his career in banking. Unassuming to fault, Vinod rarely spoke of his own achievements and it was only when we met again in the Naresh Chandra Task Force that I learned about his outstanding career and formidable reputation as a super cop: in J&K, in Kerala, In the Karthikeyan SIT and as the founder Director General of NIA. A thorough professional and a warm and modest human being; it will be always my  regret that I knew Vinod for just a year.

                                                                                                                   Admiral Arun Prakash (retd)

I had the opportunity of knowing Mr Raju as DIG of South Kashmir when I was posted as a sub divisional police officer in Srinagar. It was rare during those times to find police officers actively involved in anti-militancy operations. Mr Raju’s pleasing personality and boyish looks were always very inspiring during those rather depressing times.

I really got to know him well when he returned after investigating the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Those days I was under  a cloud, which I often am, for my rather outspoken ways. Mr Raju was a great source of strength. He encouraged me not to get demoralised. I do remember once he took me with him to Srinagar on his birthday, cooked dinner for me and sang ‘Saranga Teri Yaad Mein’ during the course of our rather private party.

Mr Raju was an extremely principled man, who would not succumb to any pressure. He became an inspiration to professionals who could understand that sycophancy is not required if you can remain a professional. He was very self-effacing, never took any credit and always deflected attention from himself. That perhaps explains why his death came as a shock; he would never talk of himself.

I never had the opportunity of working under him but remained attached with him for a few months which gave me an  opportunity  of being his sounding board. His attention to detail made him  a very competent investigator. It was this ability that brought financial investigation skills to the Jammu and Kashmir Police. In an important investigation against a prominent personality he brought to the fore tax evasion and bribe money being covered up as business transactions. I observed the investigations and saw how he taught us to trace transactions.

He was a great leader, a good and patient teacher. I and many others should be beholden to him for his personal support in times of crises. He allowed past good records to commensurate for a mistake, a trait that is rare.

                                                            Shiv Murari Sahai, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Range
Force Magazine July 2012

Radha Vinod Raju: A Tribute

D Suba ChandranDirector, IPCS 
email: subachandran@gmail.com

Early this morning (21 June 2012), I received a text message from someone we both know well that you are no more with us. We did find out a few days earlier that you were fighting a lung infection. To be honest, I did not take it too seriously. What could a lung infection do, when you have fought the various militant groups in J&K during the peak of militancy during the 1990s, and chased the LTTE killers of Rajiv Gandhi all over South India during your different postings? It took time for me to realize that you are not with us anymore.

Sir, you were a sincere and honest police officer of the J&K cadre. Although I met you much later in my research career, I became familiar with your name during my field research work. Your name would repeatedly crop up amongst the Kashmiris and the rest of J&K in reference by the locals to the few honest officers in the state. This was perhaps why you were chosen as one of the first Central Vigilance Commissioners of the state.

More than the sincerity and honesty, you believed in the J&K police (JKP), even during its worst time, especially when it was going through a tough phase in the 1990s and the early part of the last decade. You sincerely believed that the change could come, mainly through the local police and not through the para-military or military. In fact, you believed this to be true in any other conflict situation within India -whether in the Northeast or in the Naxal region – that change could come only through the local police. How perceptive you were!

One of your great regrets was that the other state police forces had not tapped the potential of the JKP to learn from the Kashmiri experience. You did not believe in keeping the experience and knowledge that you have gained a secret – both personally and professionally. You always wanted others to learn from the mistakes, failures and successes of the JKP.

Sir, you were also a great man of details, with an elephantine memory. You could explain every incident in three dimensions (at times, even in multi-dimensions), taking the listener to the actual time and place, though it might have taken place ten or fifteen years earlier. Who was standing were? What was he/she wearing? Who were accompanying the person in the discussion? What was the climate? What did the person say and how did the others present respond to it? You would recollect every single detail of what happened in Anantnag, when you were serving as the DIG, or in Bangalore, when you were chasing the killers of Rajiv Gandhi. You were a man of minute details.

When the book on Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination was being compiled almost ten years after the investigation was over, you would remember every single detail, every place, every street and corner, every vehicle and its make, every interrogator and his/her background, every tip, whether successful or unsuccessful.

You also believed in thorough investigation. More importantly, ‘fair’ investigation. You would repeatedly stress that the success of countering militancy lies in methodic investigation, leading to a successful trial and legal indictment. In fact you would always say that the real fight is not on the streets or in jungles with militants. You would repeat without fail, as if it was the most important commandment in your personal bible – that the change would come with thorough and methodic investigation leading to a fair trial.

Perhaps this self-imposed commandment was the primary reason for your success and that of your team in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Though I sensed a kind of admiration in you for the LTTE for being an effective organization, you always considered it a murderous terrorist organisation. Of course, you would never let you personal likes and admiration colour your professional judgment. Your colleagues in the Special Investigation Team (SIT) would tell stories about your passion and search for small details, which helped not only to crack a blind assassination case, but would also provide enough evidence before the court to obtain justice through impeccable investigation. It is no wonder then that you were chosen as the first Director General of India's National Investigation Agency (NIA).

More importantly, Sir, you were a great human being. When I met you for the first time, just as a student from JNU and a researcher from the IPCS, you led me into your office as if you were meeting Huntington! You would receive an amateur journalist and a leading political leader with the same smile and warmth. You remained a simple person, even though the office and the chair you were holding were really imposing. You never let your chair dictate your mind. 

And when you retired, after being the first director of the newly formed NIA, you transformed into a scholar with just as much ease. In your multiple writings for the IPCS, one could easily see the importance you would give to details and minutiae, without missing the larger picture. In fact, there would be volumes of correspondence between you and the IPCS editorial board before the publication of your essays - for you, every word had a meaning and every sentence was placed in a particular sequence. 

One big regret I will always personally have, as will my Institute, is that we could not tap the scholar in you sufficiently. Yes, Sir, you were a scholar-police man. You believed that policing does not only involve addressing a law and order situation or militancy. When many believed in keeping their knowledge gain a secret and kept reports totally classified, you believed in communicating and also learning from the experiences of others. You were the brain behind initiating a dialogue between the JKP and IPCS as a part of reaching out to the rest of world and also in turn learning from them. You believed in openness and learning from others. You not only believed, but also took steps to implement what you believed. The reports that IPCS has published on the interactions in J&K would stand as living proof.

And finally, you were a great friend to your colleagues and an absolute team player. You walked with a small group of titans in J&K, at a time when there was pettiness surrounding you in the state. You worked as a team with some great minds in contemporary J&K. You found the team, or the team found you – either way, you worked together with much passion, energy, enthusiasm and warmth. The peace dividend in J&K today is the result of the turn around you helped bring along with the rest in your team. Yet, like the other titans who silently worked for this change, you would remain in the background and let others bask in the glory that is rightly yours.

Besides working with your contemporaries the J&K and elsewhere in the rest of India, you also always ensured that there was a smooth transition. You identified a few young officers, invested in and nurtured them. They are your legacy today. And is there a better compliment to anyone than to have a legacy? Yes, you may have come from the backwaters of Kerala but you managed to make a mark in the Himalayas, and leave a lasting legacy.

Who says that you have left us? Though we will miss your smile, your warmth, your insistence for details in seminar rooms, your illustrious contributions to the ACSA programme at the IPCS, we know that your presence will always be felt. We are proud of you, Sir.

IPCS 22 June 2012

Radha Vinod Raju: a rare security expert, fine professional

Posted on: 21 Jun 2012

M.R. Narayan Swamy:

He was a devout Hindu who always kept a Bhagawat Gita by his side. He was secular to the core. He was a thorough professional, never showed bias, treated everyone fairly, and never compromised to go up the ladder. Above all, Radha Vinod Raju, the first head of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) who died Thursday, was an excellent human being. 


I had the privilege of knowing Raju and his family intimately.

I came to know Raju when he headed the team that investigated Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. In that capacity, he literally chased - in Bollywood style, using every means of transport including helicopters - every suspect on the run in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere.

'There were times,' he once told me in Srinagar, 'when we were up all through the night. We would net one chap but another would slip away. We wouldn't rest till we caught the guys we wanted. Before it all got over, the LTTE realised it was facing an unbeatable foe in the CBI.'

By the time the hunt and the trial proved the involvement of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Gandhi's killing, Raju became a virtual walking encyclopedia on the LTTE and its now dead chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.

He could recall exact words of each and every comment the LTTE and any of its members, senior or junior, had ever made on India, Gandhi, Indian politicians and the costly Indian military adventure in Sri Lanka in 1987-90.

He remembered accurately even titles and page numbers of LTTE publications and duration of LTTE videos. 'He is consumed by the LTTE!' his wife remarked at their house.

Raju would proudly recall that it was he who signed the Indian document urging Sri Lanka to extradite Prabhakaran.

But unlike many in his tribe, Raju never let any of his professional successes go to his head. In some ways, he was a spiritual person, one without ego. He was humble to the core and married to upright values.

A Konkani Malayali who was at equal ease in English, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil and Malayalam besides Konkani, Raju began his career in a bank where he met his future wife, Achamma, a Syrian Christian.

He was a devoted husband and he doted on his daughters Renu and Sindhu and grandchildren.

He joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1975. After earning laurels in Kerala as a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer, he moved to Jammu and Kashmir, to whose cadre he belonged.

There he held several senior posts from the time militancy erupted. In the years he served in the Kashmir Valley, he gained the reputation as an officer who never discriminated on the basis of religion or community. He was spotlessly clean.

I sat unobtrusively in his Srinagar office when he chided a officer for seeking funds to increase the height of his house boundary wall. 'This is unacceptable,' Raju said. 'We officers can't be seen to be living in forts when people are asked to fight militancy.'

On another occasion, he told a young police officer: 'Great work! But do not wait for the terrorists to come. Find out where they are and hit them!'

He was very proud of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and did not take kindly to attempts, including by the army, to run it down. 'But for the Kashmir Police,' he told me, 'militancy can never be controlled.'

Although he was otherwise low profile and also very considerate to everyone, including young scholars who sought him on Kashmir and LTTE affairs, he could be tough if the situation demanded. He never courted any controversy and spoke to the media on a need-to-know basis.

He shunned VIPs outside of official duty.

After retiring as the first head of NIA, Raju devoted plenty of time to writing and lecturing on security affairs.

He was a voracious reader too. The government consulted him regularly on security issues. During the end, Raju despaired that Indian leaders were not uniting on matters of security and strategic affairs.

Only in May the Central Vigilance Commission made him a member of its board to help crack cases of fraud. But God, in His wisdom, had other plans for Raju.

(M.R. Narayan Swamy is Executive Editor at IANS. He can be contacted at narayan.swamy@ians.in) (IANS) 

Officer and a gentleman

D. R. KAARTHIKEYAN

Anyone who had the good fortune of even a fleeting acquaintance with Radha Vinod Raju is sure to have been affected by his sudden passing away, yesterday.

I learnt only a couple of days ago that he was in hospital being treated for acute lung infection, but I was given to understand that he was on the mend. I was hoping to go to Kochi and look him up when he got better.

On Thursday morning the tragic news was that he was no more. That the life of such a noble person has been snatched away so soon is deeply saddening, but Raju, who was spiritual and philosophical, like me, believed that the body is only a garment; when it goes, the soul lives forever.

Raju was a rare being, a true embodiment of all the admirable qualities of head and heart — a sincere and affectionate friend, an ideal officer, a perfect gentleman.

I consider it my privilege that he was my valued colleague in the investigation of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, and in the 21 years since then, a valued and dear friend.

I was Inspector-General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Southern sector at Hyderabad when on the day after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination on May 21, 1991, I was asked to take up the investigation of the case.

The first step was to form the Special Investigation Team (SIT). When R.V. Raju came to report to me at “Malligai,” the SIT’s headquarters at Chennai, it was the first time that we met. He was from the Jammu and Kashmir cadre, which had deputed him only for a short while. He impressed me greatly with his good manners, humility, commitment and clarity of thinking and expression.

I made him head of the Tracking Team, tasked to collect intelligence and track the elusive members and sympathisers of the LTTE, who were wanted for the assassination. In no time he put together a team of junior officers from different backgrounds and led the team from the front. He travelled long distances day and night in pursuit of the wanted persons. Often, he would forego sleep and food. He was an inspiration to his team members. He won their dedication to him and to a difficult and risky mission. He also believed in a truthful, impartial and fair investigation. When, after a few months at Chennai, he was asked to return to his parent cadre, I requested for an extension of his tenure with the SIT CBI. After one extension, the Director, CBI told me that the governments of India and J&K were not agreeable to further extending his deputation.

An extension

So I called on the Union Home Secretary and requested him to permit Raju to continue with the SIT. He told me it was the J&K government that was insistent on Raju’s return to Srinagar. I went all the way to Srinagar and called on the Governor — the State was then under President’s rule.

The Governor said the State was short of good senior officers and Raju was wanted back for an important assignment. I had to explain to him how indispensible Raju was to the SIT at that critical stage of the investigation, the successful outcome of which was vital for the prestige, security and integrity of the nation.

My insistence paid off, and the Governor allowed Raju’s further extension. While Raju was grateful to me for my taking so much personal interest in his continuance with the SIT at Chennai, the entire team of investigators and prosecutors was overjoyed.

Raju always told me and others that but for my willingness to stand by the truth at all costs, the investigation would have been derailed by self-seeking personalities for whom settling personal scores was more important than upholding the interests of the nation.

When many urged me to write a book about the investigation, I was hesitant as I thought it would be difficult to sum up that massive work in a book of 250 pages. It was Raju who pursued the idea and convinced me that we could do it. With his phenomenal memory for minute details and the smallest occurrences and incidents, he played a vital role in the preparation of my book on the assassination — Triumph of Truth.

At a personal level, he and his family have been very close to me and my family. He was there to share my moments of happiness and sorrow at all times. He was an officer of integrity, fairness and courage, yet a sensitive person, always sympathetic to the problems of others.

With his passing, I feel I have lost a part of myself. His life and career are worthy of emulation. I salute him.

(D.R. Kaarthikeyan is former Director, CBI, and headed the ,investigation of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.)

COMMENTS(3)RECOMMENDEDPOST A COMMENT

It was a right tribute to someone whose demise might have gone unnoticed in this egoistic society. It is rare to see dedicated officers who take national interest to forefront and face adversities with bravery. We salute the great man. As any dedicated person Mr.R.V.Raju also took Bhagavat Gita as his Guiding light and proved It's relevance to dedication once again.

from:  Raji

Posted on: Jun 24, 2012 at 06:32 IST

It is very rare to come across in today's world to see a person like Mr Raju a man of clean image, impeccable character and dedication of his life to Public service. It was a fine tribute to the late Mr Raju likes of whom are born lesser and lesser.

from:  raghavan vasudevan

Posted on: Jun 22, 2012 at 20:11 IST

It is a moving tribute by one of the highly respected Police Officer to his team member who also happens to be equally respected and decorated. Not many including me may know that Mr. Radha Vinodh Raju was in the SIT team which investigated and brought to book the killers of the former Prime Minister, Shri Rajiv Gandhi. I pray for the departed soul to rest in peace and convey my heartfelt condolances to be bereaved family.

from:  J. Subramanian

Posted on: Jun 22, 2012 at 13:44 IST

 The Hindu 

R V Raju: A hardcore cop who loved singing Malayalam songs

Last updated on: June 23, 2012 12:55 IST

An exceptional officer, a soft spoken human being, a devout Hindu and not to mention his love for singing Malayalam songs -- that is how friends and colleagues of Radha Vinod Raju, founding director of the National Investigation Agency , would remember him.

Colleagues of this meritorious officer would remember him as one who went out of his way to try and eradicate the menace of terrorism. However, for him terrorism was a problem that needed to be fought-not on the basis of caste or religion.Despite holding many high profile positions in an extremely illustrious career, Radha Vinod Raju, who passed away at the age of 62 at Kochi on Thursday, is remembered more for the lead role that he played in cracking the case pertaining to Rajiv Gandhi's  assassination. In fact it was he who signed the document which sought the extradition of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Prabhakaran.

R Shrikumar, retired police chief of Karnataka , and Padma Bhushan award winner Prof Chandrashekar, forensics expert, who worked very closely alongside Radha Vinod Raju during the high profile Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, tell Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa about this quintessential man who has made India  proud.

Raju was born on July 27, 1949, and started his career as a bank official before he was selected to the Indian Police Services in the 1975. He was assigned to the Jammu and Kashmir  cadre and it was clear that his job since day one was fighting terror.

Loved and revered by his juniors, they fondly recall him always saying, "hit the terrorist before he strikes and do not wait for him to come in."

His work earned him many laurels and medals which include the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1992, the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 1999, a Director-General's Commendation Certificate in January 2000 and the Sher-e-Kashmir Medal for Meritorious Services in 2003.

R Shrikumar says that it is difficult to imagine that he is no longer there.

"I have worked with him for three decades and have not seen a finer officer and gentleman like him. It is difficult to withstand the los of a person whom you have known for the past 30 years. I worked with him in the CBI and the quality that struck me the most about him was that he was a gentleman to the core and a thorough investigator," Shrikumar says.

"I would call him a role model for every police officer and the manner in which he investigated the cases is something that every policeman should follow. His love for the job, his commitment and the manner in which he conducted himself are all worth mentioning. He studied each and every document so thoroughly. Each dot was connected and each blank was filled up, and he would not go to sleep until the hunch he had was proven.

"What struck me the most about Raju was that he was meticulous and was extremely sure about what he did. He handled such great assignments, which were anything but easy, with such ease. I really do not have the words to describe as to what a great loss this is, but I shall always remember with pleasure the years that I have shared working alongside him. It was always a pleasure," he adds.

Professor Chandrasekar recalls the days when he was called to Kashmir on a secret mission.

"I had to give him a forensic report and I spent two months at his home over there. The first time that I met Raju was during the Rajiv Gandhi assassination probe and since then I have been professionally very deeply involved with him," Chandrasekar says.

"I would say that he is the only person that I liked in the CBI at that point of time. Some officers of the CBI had their own reservations about forensics and it was he who acted as the bridge between my department and the CBI. In the midst of such a high profile case it was natural for anyone to lose their nerve and let tempers flay. Raju was the calming factor and I admire the manner in which he encouraged me to do my work.

"When he was posted at Jammu and Kashmir, I was invited over for two months for a secret mission. It was very scary at one point of time. There were explosions everywhere and I often wondered whether I would even return home. Raju stayed with me all the time. When we used to return home late at night, he would ensure that I forget my fears.

"He used to cook Mangalorean and Kerala style food for me and I was very surprised when he used to cheer me up by singing Malayalam songs. This was a very different side to him that I had never seen.

"When it came to work there was no looking beyond. At that time none could be trusted in the Valley. The mammoth report that I had prepared had impressed him. He had told me that none should see this report and, can you believe it, he sat down and typed the entire report by himself. He said there was a good chance of it leaking had it gone even to his stenographer. After the report was typed out we took it directly and handed it over to the chief minister.

"I really mourn the death of this great friend and police officer. I wish he had lived longer," Chandrasekar adds.

Raju's job was only about challenges. After handling such high pressure cases, he was handed over charge of the NIA after the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai .

During his various interactions with Rediff.com he spoke a great deal about the NIA and manner in which it should function. His stint at the NIA was very short and he believed that he had set the foundation and hoped that the agency would function well.

He, however, was very clear that the NIA would need some time for it to take shape completely and often said, "Don't be too critical, it takes sometime for things to take shape. Moreover it cannot be the only agency probing terror related cases and there is the joint cooperation of all wings of the police in order to solve this problem."

Even after his retirement he remained busy. He served in a task force on security reforms and spent most of his time shuttling between Kerala and New Delhi .

Despite being so extremely busy, what struck me the most was that every call used to be picked up in less than three rings, an email replied to in less than 15 minutes and text responded in less than a minute.

The sentence that struck me the most was this remark which he made in one of the interviews, "No officer worth his salt will ever be swayed by political pressure during an investigation."

Vicky Nanjappa

 Rediff.com

Radha Vinod Raju

Posted by shamsirfan on June 24, 2012 in OBTIUARY | 

A very respectable intelligence sleuth of India, Radha Vinod Raju, has left the national security barracks for ever now. Severe complications in his lungs made him breathe his last early thursday at the Lake Shore Hospital, Kochi. The 62-year-old Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Jammu and Kashmir cadre is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Born July 27, 1949, Raju began his career in a bank before joining the IPS in 1975. He was recognised widely as an expert on terrorism and counter insurgency and as an authority on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Raju earned a name for himself when his investigations proved beyond doubt the involvement of the LTTE in the conspiracy to kill Rajiv Gandhi at an election rally near Chennai in May 1991.

Radha Vinod Raju

Considered as one of the finest intelligence officers, Raju was associated with the probes into hijacking of Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar in 1999 and naval war room leak case.

Posted in the valley at the onset of armed rebellion here, Raju served as the Senior Superintendent of police of Jammu district, as Deputy Inspector General of South Kashmir Range and as Inspector General in Jammu. After his stint in the CBI, he again returned to Jammu and Kashmir before finally joining the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as its first chief.

In the years he served in the Kashmir Valley, he gained the reputation as an officer of impeccable integrity and secular credentials. In his Srinagar office he once rebuked an officer for seeking funds to increase the height of the compound wall of his residence. “This is unacceptable,” Raju is reported to have said. “We officers can’t be seen living in forts when people are asked to fight militancy.” He was instrumental in bringing to light the alleged misappropriation by Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, a former Minister in Mufti Mohd Sayeed’s cabinet, when he was the Director General of the Vigilance .

He was very proud of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and did not take kindly to the attempts, including those by the army, to run it down. “But for the Kashmir Police,” he once said, “militancy can never be controlled.” Raju also handled the sensational case of the US citizen and Lashkar-e-Toiba operative, David Headley and led a team in breaking his estranged Moroccon wife Fauzia Outullah.

 Kashmir Life

Founding NIA chief Radha Vinod Raju passes away

KOCHI/NEW DELHI, June 21, 2012

Rajiv assassination probe was high point of his career

Radha Vinod Raju, founding Director-General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and key member of the special investigation team which probed Rajiv Gandhi assassination, died in Kochi on Thursday. He was 62.

Former colleagues mourned Mr. Raju. “He was an exceptional police officer but more important, he was an exceptional human being,” said Gurbachan Jagat, former Director-General of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and now Manipur Governor. Born in Kochi on July 27, 1949, Mr. Raju worked as officer in the Bank of India before being selected to the Indian Police Service in 1975. He was assigned to the J&K cadre, and he began an illustrious career that won him the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1992, the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 1999, a Director-General’s Commendation Certificate in January 2000 and the Sher-e-Kashmir Medal for Meritorious Services in 2003.

“For all of those who served under him,” said the acting J&K Director-General of Police K. Rajendra, “Mr. Raju was a role model and an exemplar. He was impeccably honest, unfailing courteous, and a brilliant police professional.”

The soft-spoken officer first attracted national attention in mid-1980s, after cracking the Polakkulam murder case in Kerala during the first of his stints with the Central Bureau of Investigation.

He also acquired a formidable reputation in J&K, where he served as Senior Superintendent of Police in Jammu, Deputy-Inspector General of Anantnag, Inspector-General of the Jammu zone and Vigilance Commissioner.

“Mr. Raju,” recalled the former J&K Director-General of Police Gopal Sharma, “had an unusual talent for dogged investigation in the most adverse circumstances. In 1990, after the first terrorist attacks in Jammu, he succeeded in tracking down the main suspect on the basis of the thinnest evidence, and building a case that could stand up in court. It was an exceptional piece of detective work.”

The high point of Mr. Raju’s career was his central role in investigating the assassination of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Later, he co-authored a book, Triumph of Justice, with SIT chief and former CBI director D.R. Kaarthikeyan. It described how investigators, starting with almost no leads, established that a hit-team from the now-decimated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam had carried out the killing.

Following another successful tenure in J&K, Mr. Raju became the first Director-General of the NIA, founded to handle transnational terrorism-related investigations in the wake of the 26/11 attacks.

Following his retirement, he was appointed to serve in a task force on security reforms by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Last month, the Central Vigilance Commission co-opted him onto its advisory panel to offer the CBI assistance in cases of fraud.

Mr. Raju had, however, been ailing for some time with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. On June 6, he was admitted to a Kochi hospital with a lung infection, but he did not respond to treatment.

He is survived by his wife Achamma and daughters Renu and Sindhu.

The Hindu

NIA founder RV Raju passes away

Ajay Kanth, TNN Jun 21, 2012, 07.29AM IST

KOCHI: Radha Vinod Raju, the founding director general of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), died at a private hospital in the city on Thursday morning after being critically ill for the last couple of days. He was admitted to the hospital on Monday with serious lung infection. His situation got worse after he developed complicated lung infection and multiple organ failure. He breathed his last around 3.30 am, hospital authorities said.

He is survived by his wife Achamma and two daughters Renu and Sindhu. While Renu is settled in Pune, Sindhu is settled in London.The 62-year-old decorated IPS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre had held various key postings.

Raju was born in Kochi on July 27 1949. Before becoming an IPS officer in 1975, he worked as an officer in Bank of India. He was a science graduate and was fluent in Konkani, English, Hindu, Urdu, Tamil and Malayalam.

He rose to limelight after becoming a member of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He was known for his ability to handle complex crime and law and order cases mainly handling the anti-national activities of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. He was appointed as the first NIA chief in 2009 when government decided to form a national agency to probe terror-related cases after Mumbai 26/11.

He had served both the Jammu and Kashmir police and the Central Bureau of Investigation in various capacities. He had worked in CBI in 1983 and in 2002. In 1998, he was posted as inspector general of crime in Jammu and Kashmir. He became the vigilance commissioner of Jammu and Kash

Times of India

NIA founder DG R V Raju passes away

NIA founder DG R V Raju passes away

Kochi, Jun 21 (PTI) Founder Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) R V Raju died at a private hospital here early today after a prolonged illness. 62-year-old Raju breathes his last at 3:40 am after being hospitalised for a brief period, hospital sources said. Since January this year, he was down with recurring pneumonia and had been admitted to the hospital a week ago for lung infection, sources said. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. The soft-spoken Raju was appointed on January 19, 2009 as the first Chief of the NIA set up in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes. A 1975 batch IPS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, Raju handled the case of US citizen Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Headley. Before being appointed as NIA Chief, Raju was the Director General (Vigilance) of Jammu and Kashmir. Considered as one of the finest officers, Raju was associated with the probes into Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, hijacking of Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar in 1999 and Naval war room leak. Serving as head of the Vigilance Bureau in Jammu and Kashmir earlier, Raju streamlined the department which was in a shambles due to militancy. His investigation had brought to light the alleged misappropriation by Maulvi Ifthikar Hussain Ansari, a former minister in Mufti Mohd Sayeed's cabinet.

 Moneycontrol.com

NIA founder DG R V Raju passes away

Kochi, Jun 21, 2012, (PTI)

Founder Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) R V Raju died at a private hospital here early today after a prolonged illness.

62-year-old Raju breathed his last at 3:40 am after being hospitalised for a brief period, hospital sources said.

Since January this year, he was down with recurring pneumonia and had been admitted to the hospital a week ago for lung infection, sources said.

A 1975 batch IPS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, Raju handled the case of US citizen Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Headley.

Before being appointed as NIA Chief, Raju was the Director General (Vigilance) of Jammu and Kashmir.

Considered as one of the finest officers, Raju was associated with the probes into Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, hijacking of Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar in 1999 and Naval war room leak.

Serving as head of the Vigilance Bureau in Jammu and Kashmir earlier, Raju streamlined the department which was in a shambles due to militancy.

His investigation had brought to light the alleged misappropriation by Maulvi Ifthikar Hussain Ansari, a former minister in Mufti Mohd Sayeed's cabinet.

Deccan Herald

NIA founder DG R V Raju passes away

62-year-old Raju breathes his last at 3:40 am after being hospitalised for a brief period, hospital sources said.

Since January this year, he was down with recurring pneumonia and had been admitted to the hospital a week ago for lung infection, sources said.

He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

The soft-spoken Raju was appointed on January 19, 2009 as the first Chief of the NIA set up in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes.

A 1975 batch IPS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, Raju handled the case of US citizen Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Headley.

Before being appointed as NIA Chief, Raju was the Director General (Vigilance) of Jammu and Kashmir.

Considered as one of the finest officers, Raju was associated with the probes into Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, hijacking of Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar in 1999 and Naval war room leak.

Serving as head of the Vigilance Bureau in Jammu and Kashmir earlier, Raju streamlined the department which was in a shambles due to militancy.

His investigation had brought to light the alleged misappropriation by Maulvi Ifthikar Hussain Ansari, a former minister in Mufti Mohd Sayeed's cabinet.

 Business Standard

NIA founder DG RV Raju passes away

Thursday, Jun 21, 2012, 10:44 IST | Place: Kochi | Agency: PTI

62-year-old Raju breathes his last at 3:40 am after being hospitalised for a brief period, hospital sources said.

Radha Vinod Raju, an IPS officer who unravelled the conspiracy behind the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and was, more recently, involved in tracking footprints of Lashker-e-Taiba terrorist David Headley, died here this morning after a prolonged illness.Raju, 62, who was the founder/ Director General of NIA (National Investigation Agency), breathed his last at a private hospital in Kochi at 3.40 am, family sources said. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
Raju was down with recurring pneumonia and had been admitted to hospital a week ago for lung infection, the sources said.
A 1975 batch IPS officer from Jammu and Kashmir cadre, Raju was recently appointed as adviser to the CVC to look after banking cases.
Raju shot to fame in early 1990s when he along with DR Karthikeyan unravelled the conspiracy behind the killing of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
A soft-spoken personality, Raju worked in a bank before joining IPS in 1975. He reached to the top and was appointed as the first Director General National Investigation Agency (NIA) on January 19, 2009, an organisation set up in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes.
Before his retirement, Raju traced Pakistani-American Lashker-e-Taiba terrorist David Headley's footprints in India and was also instrumental in breaking his estranged Moroccan wife Fauzia Outullah, a move that had even stumped American investigators.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram expressed grief over the death of Raju and also conveyed condolences to his son-in-law.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also condoled the death and said Raju was a fine officer who led a principled life during his unblemished meritorious career.

DNA

Former JK Vigilance Commr Raju passes away

Omar, Vohra, Farooq, Rajendra Condole Demise

PTI/IANS/GKNN

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Kochi, June 21: Radha Vinod Raju, the first chief of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and one of India’s finest police officers, died here early Thursday due to lung complications, a doctor said.
A highly respected Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Jammu and Kashmir cadre, Raju passed away around 3.40 am at the Lake Shore Hospital, medical oncologist VP Gangadharan told IANS. He was suffering from leukemia.
The 62-year-old is survived by his wife Achamma and two daughters, Renu and Sindhu. Besides his mother tongue Konkani, he spoke English, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil and Malayalam.
Raju, who also served with distinction in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), headed the operational wing of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to track down the killers of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
Raju earned his first laurels as a CBI officer in Kerala in 1983-89 when he solved some dragging corruption and murder cases.
He was posted in the Kashmir Valley when militancy erupted. After his stint in the CBI, he returned to Jammu and Kashmir before finally heading the NIA.
Over the years, Raju was recognized widely as an expert on terrorism and counter insurgency and as an authority on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He was an active member of India’s strategic community.
Born July 27, 1949, Raju worked with a bank - where he met his future wife - before joining the IPS in 1975.
Raju served as the senior superintendent of police of Jammu district, as deputy inspector general in South Kashmir Range and as inspector general in Jammu.
At the SIT, he headed the team that proved beyond doubt the involvement of the LTTE in the conspiracy to kill Gandhi at an election rally near Chennai in May 1991.
It was Raju who signed the Indian government orders seeking from Sri Lanka the extradition of the now dead LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.
SIT chief DR Karthikeyan and Raju were the joint authors of “Triumph of Justice - The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination - The Investigation”, a book which meticulously details how they cracked the Gandhi case.
After serving the SIT for years, he was posted as inspector general of police in Jammu and Kashmir in 1998.
He had another stint with the CBI later and became in 2002 its joint director.
Before being appointed as NIA Chief, Raju was the Director General (Vigilance) of Jammu and Kashmir.
After retirement, he took an active role in addressing members of the strategic community and think-tanks on issues related to terrorism and security. He also wrote extensively on security issues.
Only last month, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) inducted him into its board to assist the CBI in cases of fraud.

DEATH WIDELY CONDOLEDUnion Home Minister P Chidambaram expressed grief over the death of Raju and also conveyed condolences to his son-in-law.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also condoled the death and said Raju was a fine officer who led a principled life during his unblemished meritorious career.
Union Minister for Renewable Energy and National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah expressed grief over the demise of Raju.
He said it’s a great loss and expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family members and prayed for his eternal peace.
Additional Director General of Police Security Ram Lubhaya has been deputed to attend the funeral of Raju at Kochi.
State Governor N N Vohra also condoled the death of Raju and conveyed his sympathy to members of the bereaved family.
Condolence meetings were held at various police establishments in Jammu and Kashmir where his services were recalled by speakers.
Recalling his role, Director General of state police K Rajendra Kumar said Raju was an able police officer who always acted as a guiding light to his juniors.
Inspector General of Police Sheikh Owais remembered Raju as an ace investigator and one who always seemed to be in a hurry to help the needy.
A condolence meeting was held at SSG headquarters in Srinagar in remembrance of Raju.
Director SSG, HK Lohia termed the sad demise of Raju as a great loss of professionalism, simplicity and caring nature.
Khwaja Bashir Ahmad, a retired senior bureaucrat, credited Raju with streamlining the state’s anti-corruption organization.
Naeem Akhtar, a former bureaucrat, watched Raju’s career groom from a probationer to a commander.
“He was a human being of exceptional qualities. I lived with him in the same apartment for over two years. Though professionally very competent, he could never cast himself into the steel jacket that usually happens to police officers.”
Peer Ghulam Hassan Shah, the first director general of Jammu and Kashmir Police, expressed shock over Raju’s demise.
MINISTER OF STATE FOR HOME, NASIR ASLAM WANI HAS EXPRESSED GRIEF ON THE SAD DEMISE OF RAJU.
DESCRIBING HIM A PROFESSIONAL POLICE OFFICER, NASIR SAID THAT HIS CONTRIBUTION AS A POLICE OFFICER WOULD BE THE BEACON LIGHT FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OF THE J&K STATE.
POLITICAL ADVISOR TO THE CHIEF MINISTER DEVENDER SINGH RANA HAS EXPRESSED HIS GRIEF AND SORROW ON THE SAD DEMISE OF R.V RAJU.
RANA CONVEYED HIS HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES TO MRS RAJU AND THE FAMILY. 

Greater Kashmir