J&K stint will help me: NIA chief

M Saleem Pandit, TNN Jan 16, 2009, 04.13am IST

JAMMU: The J&K cadre IPS officer who was appointed the first head of the National Investigation Agency said on Thursday that his stint in the terror-wracked state will help him during his new assignment.

With all eyes on NIA, which was formed after the Mumbai attacks to help coordinate terror probes and intelligence better, Radha Vinod Raju told TOI in his first interview after the appointment was announced that he was aware of the mammoth responsibility he has.

• "The investigating agency has a huge responsibility to bring the truth before the countrymen, which will even serve as evidence to countries who try to perpetrate violence on our soil," he said.
• "I have learnt a lot during two decades of militancy in Jammu & Kashmir, and this experience, I am sure, will help me in my future assignment." He said he was going to join his new job next week.
• Born in 1949, Raju, of the 1975 IPS batch, is currently the vigilance commissioner in Jammu & Kashmir. He was to attain superannuation in July, 2009.

Besides being involved in the investigation of the high-profile Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, Raju has conducted dozens of probes in the controversial terrorist actions in J&K. He also investigated the fidayeen attack on Srinagar's Tourist Reception Centre on April 7, 2005.

 Times of India