John Lobo (1921 to 2017)

John Lobo was born in 1921 and grew up in Bombay His parents were Nascimento Eufemiano and Mary Lobo. He went to school at Dr. Antonio Da Silva High School, Byculla and graduated from St Xavier's College, Bombay in 1940 with First Class Honours. He married Stephie (nee Rodrigues) in 1947 and they had five children.

John was known to be deeply religious and committed to his family and career. After retirement in 1979, he returned to Bombay where in addition to being associated with a number of social welfare organisations, he took to freelance writing. He recorded his memoirs in 'Leaves from a Policeman's Diary' which was first published by Allied Publishers in 1992. In the book he narrates his most memorable experiences when he headed the Crime Branch, C.I.D., Bombay's showpiece in the 1950s and served, later in the IB and CBI. Stephie was tragically killed in a car accident in 1997 and John Lobo died in 2017 at the ripe old age of 96 years.

Mr. John Lobo was recruited to the Indian Police Service in 1948, the first batch of Indian policemen after the withdrawal of the British. For some time he served in the erstwhile Bombay State and later in the State of Maharashtra. He went on deputation to the Government of India and was Joint Director, Intelligence Bureau (IB), Ministry of Home Affairs. In this position he served as Chief Security Liaison Officer to two Prime Ministers and later was appointed Director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Ministry of Home Affairs, and Head of the Interpol Division, National Crime Bureau, India.

In Chapter 10 (Miracles Do Happen) of 'Leaves from a Policeman's Diary,' he narrates the first ever public, first-hand, and factual account of the V643 incident; based on his direct knowledge of and involvement in the flight and the aftermath.