Thirty-one Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials including those who investigated the coal block allocation scam and the Nirav Modi case have been awarded police medals this Republic Day.

Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Amit Kumar, who served in the CBI for almost 12 years in various capacities including as superintendent of police (SP), deputy inspector general (DIG) and joint director (JD) and investigated some complex cases, has been awarded the President’s police medal for distinguished service.

During his tenure in the premier agency, he was in-charge of investigating coal cases, which led to conviction of several accused persons over the years, besides probing National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam, online child sexual abuse cases, cybercrimes and several economic frauds.

As joint director (policy) of the CBI, he led the agency’s coordination with international agencies, sister agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED), National Investigation Agency (NIA), etc.

He was also involved in Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reviews, G-20 Summit anti-corruption working group meetings and coordinated a joint operation with the US agencies in a hacking case.

Kumar, an IPS officer of the 1998 batch, is currently posted as additional director general (ADG), intelligence, in Chhattisgarh.

Other recipients of the medal are joint director Vidya Jayant Kulkarni, who supervised the investigation into the disproportionate assets case against former telecom minister A Raja, among other cases, and DIG Jagroop S Gusinha, who supervised the investigation into the killing of Dhanbad judge Uttam Anand.

DIG Sharada Raut, who supervised the probe into bank frauds related to fugitive businessman Nirav Modi, and former DIG Raghvendra Vatsa, who oversaw the probe into the Delhi excise policy case and other corruption cases related to the Delhi government, have also been awarded the medal.