Praveen Sood is a Police Officer of the 1986-batch Karnataka cadre of the Indian Police Service (IPS) and served as the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG), Karnataka from 2020 to 2023 & IGP). He made headlines on May 14, 2023, when the Indian government appointed him as Director General of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Wiki/Biography
Praveen Sood was born on Friday, May 22, 1964, in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India (age 59; as of 2023). His zodiac sign is Gemini. Praveen grew up in Delhi and completed his education in a city school on scholarship.
Praveen Sood childhood photos
After completing his studies, he enrolled at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) where he pursued a Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering. At IIT Delhi, he took psychology as an elective. After completing his engineering studies, he started preparing for the Civil Service Examination (CSE) conducted by UPSC and successfully passed the exam in 1986. In 2003, he pursued postgraduate degrees in public policy and management from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB) and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, New York.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 9″
Hair color: Bald
Eye color: dark brown
family
Praveen Sood was born into a lower-middle-class family in Himachal Pradesh.
Parents and siblings
His father Om Prakash Sood (late) was a clerk in the Delhi government. His mother, Kamlesh Sood, is a teacher.
Old photos of Praveen Sood with parents and children
wife and children
His wife Vinita Sood is a businesswoman.
Praveen Sood with his wife Vinita
He has two daughters, Ashita Sood and Anushka Sood. Aashita is a lawyer and married to famous cricketer Mayank Agarwal.
Photos of Praveen Sood’s daughters Aashita Sood (right) and Anoushka Sood
address
Praveen Sood lives in House No.59, Gen KSThimmayya Road, Bengaluru- 560 025, Karnataka, India.
Signature/Autograph
Signature of Praveen Sood
Profession
In 1986, after clearing the civil services examination conducted by UPSC, Praveen Sood joined Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad. In 1989, after completing the police training module, he was posted to Mysore as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP).
Photo taken by Praveen Sood after serving as IPS officer
Thereafter, he served as Superintendent of Police (SP) of Bellary and Raichur districts. Later, he was posted to Bengaluru as Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (Law and Order). In 1999, the Government of India selected Praveen Sood from a pool of IPS officers to serve as Police Advisor to the Government of Mauritius; he served in Mauritius for three years. In his role as a police consultant, he worked with law enforcement agencies in the United States and the European Union. In 2004, he was posted to Mysore and served as Commissioner of Police till 2007. During his tenure as police chief, he not only developed many strategies to improve and control traffic conditions in the city, but also played a key role in arresting criminals. Terrorists coming to India from Pakistan. He served as Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) in the Bengaluru City Traffic Department from February 2008 to September 2011 and played an important role in the establishment of the Bengaluru Traffic Management Centre.
Photo taken by Praveen Sood at Traffic Management Center, Bengaluru
Later, he was posted to the Computer Wing of Karnataka Police as Additional Director General of Police (ADGP). There he was instrumental in setting up several public-facing projects such as the Crime and Crime Tracking Network System (CCTNS) and mobile governance for collecting fees and public service requests through SMS gateways. He also assists the Government of Karnataka in the implementation of the Karnataka Citizen Service Guarantee Act (2011). He was appointed as Managing Director, Karnataka Police Housing Corporation between 2013 and 2014. Under his leadership, the housing company’s profits increased from Rs 160 crore to Rs 282 crore. Thereafter, he served in various capacities such as Principal Secretary, Karnataka Home Department, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Karnataka Reserve Police Service and Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Karnataka Reserve Police.
Praveen Sood with then Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa
Thereafter, Praveen Sood was appointed as Bangalore Police Commissioner. While serving as Commissioner, he assisted in the implementation of the Emergency Response System (ERS) Namma 100 (My 100). To improve the safety of women in Bengaluru, he launched an app called Suraksha, run by women police officers. He also launched the ‘Pink Hoyasala’ initiative to help distressed women. According to multiple sources, Sood was transferred and removed from office just seven months after falling out of favor with the Congress-led Karnataka government.
Photo taken when Praveen Sood handed over the charge of Bangalore City Police Commissioner to T. Suneel Kumar
After completing his tenure as Director General of Police, he was appointed as Director General of Police (DGP), Directorate of Criminal Investigation, Economic Crimes and Special Branch. As Deputy Director General of a specialized unit, he played a huge role in the establishment of the Center for Cybercrime Investigation, Training and Research. In January 2020, he succeeded Neelmani Raju as Director General of Police and Inspector General of Police (DG & IGP), Karnataka.
Photo taken when Praveen Sood took over as Karnataka police chief
On May 15, 2023, the Government of India nominated Praveen Sood as Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He assumed office on May 25, 2023 and succeeded Subodh Kumar Jaiswal.
Awards
- In 1996, Praveen Sood was awarded the Chief Minister’s Gold Medal for distinguished services.
Praveen Sood awarded Chief Minister’s Gold Medal
- In 2002, he was awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service.
- In 2006, he received the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award.
- In 2011, he was awarded the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service.
- In the same year, he was awarded the National E-Government Gold Medal for “the most innovative application of traffic management technology.”
Photos of Praveen Sood in embellished police uniform
Facts/Trivia
- Praveen Sood is an avid golfer.
- Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar, who was appointed CBI director, targeted Praveen, accusing him of shielding Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers while registering over 25 cases during the 2023 Karnataka election campaign Cases against congressional workers. Shivakumar spoke about this in an interview and said,
This DGP is “Nalayak”. Let our government come to power. We will take action against him. Congress also wrote to the ECI demanding his removal. I think he (Praveen Sood) is a respected man. A case should be registered against him immediately and he should be arrested. He has served for three years. How many days do you want to keep and worship him? He has been suing only against Congress. He has registered more than 25 cases against us but not a single case against the BJP leader. “
- Praveen Sood is a travel enthusiast (very fond of traveling) and has been to many countries.
- Praveen Sood has been invited to participate in many talk shows including TEDx to deliver motivational speeches.
Photos taken by Praveen Sood during her motivational talk at TEDx
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education