KOCHI: The news of the appointment of Radha Vinod Raju as the Director- General of the newly-formed National Investigation Agency (NIA), has been greeted with elation by his friends and relatives in the state.
The 1975-batch IPS officer of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre is a Keralite whose family members are still in Fort Kochi.
“It is nice to know that Radha Vinod Raju was appointed as the Director- General of the NIA . I tried to contact him, but couldn’t get through. We were collegemates at the Maharaja’s College here in the 1970s. I clearly remember that actor Mammootty, who was another collegemate, announcing about singing of Raju and me. Raju was more interested in crooning Hindi songs that time. We have always kept that friendship even after the college days,” said Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor K R Viswambharan, a collegemate and friend of Radha Vinod Raju.
Radha Vinod Raju, who is basically from Fort Kochi, completed his MSc in Physics from the Maharaja’s College in 1973. His father is late R S Raju, a former post master. His mother Narmada died four months ago. His sisters Vineetha (former manager of Bank of Maharashtra) and Vinaya (former History professor, Maharaja’s College) are currently in Mumbai. His wife is Achamma, a former officer with the Indian Overseas Bank.
After completing his post graduation, Radha Vinod Raju joined the Indian Bank in Goa. In 1975, he became a topranker in the Civil Service Examination.
His first appointment was as the ASP of Poonch. Later, he became the SP of Srinagar and DIG at Jammu. During 1983-87, he served as the head of CBI unit, Kochi. In 1991, he headed the special team probing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Radha Vinod Raju co-authored with D R Karthikeyan `Triumph of Truth’, which dealt with Tamil Tigers and their international connections. He has served as the Joint Director and Additional Director of the CBI in Delhi and Director, Vigilance in Kashmir.
Presently, he is DGP (Vigilance) in Srinagar.