Ex-CBI chief P C Sharma, who steered Abu Salem's extradition, dies

New Delhi: Former CBI Director P C Sharma, who played a key role in the extradition of Mumbai bomb blast accused Abu Salem from Portugal, died on Tuesday, his family said. He was 82.

The former IPS officer was admitted in a private hospital three days back where he breathed his last at 7.45 pm.

The cremation will take place on Wednesday, a family member told PTI.

An IPS officer of the 1966-batch Assam cadre, Sharma became the chief of the CBI on April 30, 2001, at a time when white-collar crime was on the rise. He served the agency until December 6, 2003.

Recognisable by his bamboo cap, which he wore at every public appearance as a symbol of his connection to Assam, Sharma had a distinguished career in law enforcement.

He first joined the CBI in 1978 as a Superintendent of Police. He was called back by the Assam government to handle the agitation in 1982.

In Assam, he was given sensitive position of Deputy Inspector General (border and central range) and was tasked to identify and deport unauthorised intruding foreigners.

He came back to the CBI in 1984 and worked for the agency for 21 years across multiple tenures, holding various ranks including Superintendent of Police, Deputy Inspector General, Joint Director, Additional Director, Special Director, and finally Director.

In between, he also served as the Director General of Police in Sikkim.

He was elected the Vice President of Interpol and held the rare distinction of serving two consecutive terms as a member of National Human Rights Commission during both the NDA and UPA regimes.

He was known for his innovative approaches, including employing chartered accountants to tackle the growing issue of white-collar and financial crimes.

He did not shy away from arresting an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court in connection with an alleged corruption case involving the then Vice Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority.

During his tenure, the CBI also raided the office of then Minister of State for Finance Gingee Ramachandran over allegations of corruption.

Sharma lost his wife in December 2022. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, both of whom are lawyers.