Rajiv Ranjan Bhagat appointed ADG in SPG

Ahmedabad: Senior Gujarat cadre IPS officer Rajiv Ranjan Bhagat was appointed the additional director general (ADG) in the elite Special Protection Group (SPG) on Monday after approval by the appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC).

According to an order issued by the department of personnel and training (DoPT), the appointment was cleared based on a proposal sent by the office of the secretary (security) under the cabinet secretariat. Bhagat, a 1998-batch Gujarat cadre IPS officer, will serve on the post until May 20, 2027.

The order stated that the post currently held by Bhagat has been temporarily upgraded to the ADG level as a measure personal to the officer, enabling his appointment in the SPG at the rank of additional director general.

Bhagat is among the most experienced officers from the Gujarat cadre and has served in several key assignments in both the state and central govts. On central deputation since May 2018, he has been associated with the SPG, one of the country’s most specialized security agencies entrusted with the protection of the Prime Minister and other designated high-risk protectees.

He is remembered for handling several challenging law-and-order situations in Gujarat during his tenure. He came into the spotlight while serving as the joint commissioner of police, Sector-1, Ahmedabad, during the Patidar quota agitation in Aug 2015.

The SPG is regarded as India’s premier protective security force, and appointments at the ADG level are considered crucial due to the agency’s highly sensitive responsibilities. The ACC order, issued on June 1, also approved several other senior-level appointments and service-related decisions involving officers from the IAS and IPS cadres across various central govt departments and security agencies.