Tapan Deka new IB chief; 1 more year for RAW head

NEW DELHI: The government on Friday appointed Tapan Kumar Deka, a 1988 batch IPS officer and an intelligence operations expert, as the director of Intelligence Bureau. He succeeds Aravinda Kumar who completes his three-year tenure at the IB helm on June 30.

In another decision, the government cleared a further one-year extension for RAW chief Samant Kumar Goel, a 1984 batch IPS officer.

Deka has headed the operations desk in the IB and is known to be a hands-on professional with wide knowledge and experience in various insurgency/terror theatres, including the northeast, Kashmir as well as Pakistan-sponsored terror operations in the hinterland. The government chose him over at least four senior officers in the IB. While special director AS Rajan, an IPS officer of 1987 batch is the seniormost officer in IB, two other officers senior to Deka, Sheel Vardhan Singh of 1986 batch and Swagat Das of 1987 batch, were shifted out of IB earlier as CISF DG and special secretary (internal security) in the Union home ministry.

A Himachal cadre officer, Deka was heading the operations desk of IB before he was announced as next DIB. He has handled several challenging assignments, including dealing with post-CAA violence in Assam. He has also tracked Islamic radicalisation and was instrumental in gathering intelligence about whereabouts of leaders and cadres of Indian Mujahideen, leading to some successful operations and arrests.

For Goel, who belongs to Punjab cadre, a fourth year as RAW chief is a clear expression of the government's faith in his operational capabilities and its preference for continuity in the agency.


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