Radhavinod Raju ( ml, രാധാവിനോദ് രാജു 27 July 1949 – 21 June 2012) was an
Indian Police Service
The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj.
Along with the Indian Administrative Service (I ...
(IPS)
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
. He joined the police service in 1975 as
Jammu and Kashmir cadre batch. The character
Sethurama Iyer, who is the main protagonist of
CBI film series in Malayalam films, portrayed by
Mammootty is said to have been inspired by Radha Vinod Raj.
Early life and education
Radhavinod Raju was born in
Mattancherry,
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
, Kerala. His father R.S. Raju was a post master in
Fort Kochi
Fort Kochi, Fort Cochin in English, Cochim de Baixo ("Lower Kochi") in Cochin Portuguese creole, is a neighbourhood of Cochin (Kochi) city in Kerala, India. Fort Kochi takes its name from the Fort Manuel of Cochin, the first European for ...
. He is survived by his wife Achamma and two daughters Sindhoo and Renu. His nephew is Music director/Actor
Siddharth Vipin.
He got MSc in Physics from
Maharaja's College, Ernakulam, Kerala. He entered into
Indian Police Service
The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj.
Along with the Indian Administrative Service (I ...
when he was working as an Officer in
Union Bank of India
Union Bank of India, commonly referred to as Union Bank or UBI, is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Mumbai. It has 120+ million customers and a total business of US$106 billion. After the amalgamation with Corporation Bank and A ...
, Goa.
Career
His first appointment as
Superintendent of police
Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...
in
Poonch District, Jammu and Kashmir. Then he joined SP in
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),
Ernakulam. After that he served as
DIG in Jammu and Kashmir.
On 19 January 2009, he was appointed as the first chief of India's
National Investigation Agency
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the primary counter-terrorist task force of India. The agency is empowered to deal with the investigation of terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states under written ...
. Before that he held the post of Director General of vigilance department of
Jammu and Kashmir.
He headed the operational wing of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) which found the killers of
Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. His service history also includes important cases like the
Kandahar flight hijacking,
Purulia arms drop case
The Purulia arms drop happened on 17 December 1995 when unauthorised arms were dropped from an Antonov An-26 aircraft in Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief accused "Kim Davy" (real name Niels Holck, alias Niels Chris ...
etc.
He was working as a CBI officer in Kerala in 1983–89. At the time he investigated very important cases in Kerala police history like Polakkulam murder case, Panoor SI Soman murder case, Augustine murder case, Sujatha murder case.
Death
He died in Kochi on 21 June 2012 at the age of 62, due to lung complications. Until his death, he served as an advisory council member of
Central Vigilance Commission
Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created in 1964 to address governmental corruption. In 2003, the Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the CVC. It has the status of an autonomous body, f ...
.
Bibliography
* Triumph of truth:the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, the investigation by D. R. Kaarthikeyan, Radhavinod Raju; Publisher – New Dawn Press, 2004;
* Rajiv Gandhi Vadham Oru Kuttanweshanam(Malayalam) by D. R. Kaarthikeyan, Radhavinod Raju; Publisher – Olive;
See also
*
Rajiv Gandhi
*
Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi
The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, occurred as a result of a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, India on 21 May 1991. At least 14 others, in addition to Rajiv Gandhi, were killed. It was carried ou ...
*
Kandahar flight hijacking
*
Purulia arms drop case
The Purulia arms drop happened on 17 December 1995 when unauthorised arms were dropped from an Antonov An-26 aircraft in Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief accused "Kim Davy" (real name Niels Holck, alias Niels Chris ...
*
D. R. Karthikeyan
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raju, Radha Vinod
1949 births
2012 deaths
Indian police officers
People from Mattancherry