NEW DELHI: The Modi government on Wednesday appointed a new head of the external espionage agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). Reports said Samant Goel, an officer from the national police cadre, IPS, as is the national security adviser Ajit Doval, played a key role in India’s air attack on Balakot.

In parallel development, the government has appointed senior IPS officer Arvind Kumar as the director of the Intelligence Bureau.

He is said to be as an expert on the troubled disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The appointments to the top posts in the external and domestic intelligence agencies were made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the chairman of this committee.

Both IPS officers are of the 1984 batch and hold the rank of Director General. Mr Goel is from the Punjab cadre while Mr Kumar is from the Assaam-Meghalaya cadre.

Mr Goel replaces incumbent Anil Kumar Dhasmana, who is retiring after two and a half years of service. He has handled Punjab militancy at its peak in the 1990s.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2019