Counter-terror expert Rakesh Aggarwal to lead India’s anti-terror agency

Rakesh Aggarwal, a 1994-batch IPS officer from the Himachal Pradesh cadre, has been appointed Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved his tenure till August 31, 2028.

New Delhi: Counter-terrorism expert Rakesh Aggarwal was on Wednesday appointed as the new director general of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the country’s anti-terror agency.

Aggarwal, a 1994-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, is currently working as special director general in the anti-terror agency. He was also holding the additional charge of the post of DG, NIA, after the premature repatriation of Sadanand Vasant Date to Maharashtra last month.

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Date took over as the chief of Maharashtra Police on January 3. Following his repatriation, Aggarwal was named interim NIA chief.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Aggarwal’s appointment as DG, NIA for a tenure up to August 31, 2028, the date of his superannuation, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

Aggarwal is considered an expert in counter-terrorism, terror financing and radicalisation matters. He is regarded as an ace investigator, adept at handling probes in complex internal security cases.

Aggarwal has also extensively worked with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and held key posts under the central and Himachal Pradesh governments.

Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor appointed as DG of ITBP

Former Haryana Police chief Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor was on Wednesday appointed as the director general of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), entrusted with the task of guarding the country’s frontier with China.

He succeeds incumbent Praveen Kumar, who has been named the new head of the Border Security Force (BSF), according to a Personnel Ministry order.

Kapoor, a 1990-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Haryana cadre, was in October last year, sent on leave following a controversy over IPS officer Y Puran Kumar’s alleged suicide. He was then posted as the Director General of Police (DGP), Haryana.

Puran, a 2001-batch IPS officer, allegedly shot himself dead on October 7. In an eight-page ‘final note’ purportedly left behind, he had accused several senior officers, including Kapoor, of “blatant caste-based discrimination, targeted mental harassment, public humiliation and atrocities”.

The Haryana government last month relieved Kapoor from the charge of state DGP.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment as DG, ITBP for a period up to October 31, 2026, the date of his superannuation, the order said.

Incumbent ITBP chief Kumar has been named the new DG, BSF. He has been appointed to the post for a period up to September 30, 2030, the date of his retirement, it said.

Kumar, a 1993-batch IPS officer of West Bengal cadre, has been holding additional charge of DG, BSF since November 30, following the superannuation of Daljit Singh Chawdhary.

The BSF primarily protects the Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.