Both officials are with out-and-out operational experience and many see this as placing confidants in the security setup
R&AW chief Samant Goel (left) and Intelligence Bureau chief Tapan Deka. Composite: ANI & News18
In two extraordinary decisions, the Narendra Modi government has given charge of the Intelligence Bureau to Tapan Deka, a 1988-batch Himachal Pradesh-cadre IPS officer, and a second extension as R&AW chief to Samant Goel, a 1984-batch IPS officer from the Punjab cadre.
Deka has superseded seven officers from the 1987 and 88 batches, and this is being seen as a revolutionary step by the Modi government.
With his appointment, the IB is going to lose seven officers of special director-level who are much senior to many of the state director generals of police.
Deka joined the IB earlier as assistant director, has wide expertise, and has dealt with challenges in the Northeast, said sources. He was even posted in the region.
He has been associated with anti-terror operations for more than a decade and a half.
Deka was involved in counterterror operations in Kashmir as well and is known as a trusted man of union home minister Amit Shah.
He was also incharge of the multi-agency centre (MAC) in IB that coordinates intelligence sharing with other central and state agencies as well as law enforcement units.
Samant Goel’s extension in R&AW is being seen as his working style being appreciated in North and South Blocks.
Goel is an operational man with extraordinary reach in Khalistani groups and was instrumental in talks with Pakistan on ceasefire matters.
His latest big success was the evacuation of the Indian mission from Kabul last August and the reopening of the embassy this week was pushed by him.
Goel is the first official in recent times with two such extensions and will be serving the longest tenure since 2000.
According to insiders, agencies in India are going through a major change. Earlier a secret note was sufficient to alert the government or security agencies. Now South Block is not satisfied with a note and asks about the intervention that a particular desk/team has done to stop a threat event, they added
Both officials are with out-and-out operational experience. Many see this as placing confidants in the security setup. The appointments of Rakesh Asthana, present commissioner of Delhi Police, and Dinkar Gupta, who was made the director general of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday, also suggest this, said insiders.
Also read:
Tapan Deka appointed as Director of Intelligence Bureau, Samant Goel gets another year as R&AW chief
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