A Ministry of Finance order confirms the President’s acceptance of his resignation. A 2009 batch officer aged 45, Raj cited personal reasons for stepping down, leaving approximately fifteen years before compulsory retirement at age 60.
During an eight‑year deputation with the Enforcement Directorate, Raj supervised the arrests of two sitting chief ministers under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He was present when Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was taken into custody at Raj Bhavan in January 2024 and during the arrest memo served to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at his official residence on 21 March 2024. The Kejriwal case stemmed from investigations into alleged irregularities in the excise policy, ultimately leading to his historic arrest while in office.
Raj’s oversight extended into probing complex financial fraud, including investigations against diamond traders Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, and cases related to DHFL and Iqbal Mirchi during his posting in Mumbai. According to official accounts, he regularly prepared and vetted interrogation questionnaires, led onsite search operations, and played a vital role in the headquarters investigation unit, which focuses on politically sensitive cases.
After his ED stint concluded in December 2024, Raj returned to the GST Intelligence wing in Delhi, serving as Additional Commissioner in the Directorate General of GST Intelligence through to his resignation. His departure came without public clarification, prompting speculation within bureaucratic circles about possible moves to legal consultancy or private compliance advisory roles, where his enforcement expertise would be in demand.
Analysis within government sources suggests that Raj was trusted with cases involving politically high‑stakes and complicated financial crime investigations. His style—marked by diligent planning, field presence and thorough case construction—earned him recognition within the ED. In the Delhi excise policy probe, for instance, he was directly responsible for overseeing search teams and ensuring interrogation protocols met legal precision standards.
Raj’s resignation closes a chapter that intersected bureaucracy and some of the most polarising political developments. The arrests of Soren and Kejriwal remain a focal point in national discourse, often critiqued as politically charged actions by the central investigative apparatus.
Before joining ED, Raj built credentials within investigation units handling major bank frauds, including the DHFL and coal‑smuggling cases in West Bengal, and the Yes Bank irregularities. His engineering background—he holds a BTech in Electronics—and methodical approach reportedly supported forensic and data‑driven elements of financial investigations.
As the government begins to fill his post, the ED and DGGI may see other officers stepping up, though few have operated at the intersection of political and financial crime as comprehensively as Raj. His exit may shift the dynamic in how ED pursues large‑scale money‑laundering cases, particularly those with overt political implications.
There is no indication yet that Raj is pursuing any legal challenge or political objective. His stated reason remains personal. However, given the timing shortly after returning to his parent department and the high‑profile nature of his ED tenure, observers continue to debate the broader civil‑service implications of his departure.