Who is Sampat Meena, CBI Additional Director, heading probe in Kolkata doctor murder-rape case?

The alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata has shocked the nation. The CBI took over the investigation into the case from the Kolkata Police on the direction of the high court. The case is being investigated by a 25-member CBI team headed by additional director Sampat Meena. But who is Sampat Meena?

Sampat Meena is currently serving as the additional director of CBI. She is the 1994 batch IPS officer of the Jharkhand cadre. Meena was also at the helm of the high-profile investigation of the sensational Unnao rape case and Hathras gangrape. She is a strong advocate of women’s issues and human rights and is known as a sharp officer.

Meena was elevated to additional director of CBI in August 2023. Earlier, she was working as a joint director of the central agency. Meeina came on deputation to CBI in September 2017 for five years. She further got two years extension till September 21, 2024. Before her posting as CBI joint director, Lucknow zone, she was posted as IG in BPR&D in New Delhi where she continued to work towards issues of child trafficking.

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She was the first woman IPS officer to be posted as SSP, Ranchi. Meena had previously worked in the Naxal-affected districts of Jharkhand. She was SP of Dhanbad, Ranchi, Deoghar, and Jamtara. Meena received the President’s Medal in 2021 for distinguished service. According to reports, Meena belongs to an IAS and IPS family in Rajasthan's Sawaimadhopur district. Her father is a retired IPS while her husband Surendra Singh is a 1993 batch IAS office of the Jharkhand cadre.