IPS Officer Who Handled Maoists, Kashmir Now Appointed IB Director

Kumar will take the reins of the internal intelligence agency from Rajiv Jain.

Arvind Kumar has been appointed as the new IB chief.

(Photo Altered By The Quint)

The government on Wednesday, 26 June, appointed Arvind Kumar as Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), following the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kumar is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1984 batch of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

Along with him, Samant Goel has been appointed as the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief.

Kumar will take over the reins of the internal intelligence agency from Rajiv Jain.

Kashmir Expert of IB

Kumar has been a special director-rank officer of the bureau and is also the IB’s Kashmir expert. In addition to this, he has been closely involved in tackling left-wing extremism at the agency, according to reports.

With Kashmir being one of the priorities for Home Minister Amit Shah, Kumar’s appointment is being seen as a significant one.

After being inducted into the IPS in 1984, Kumar started his career in Assam and after a brief stint, moved to the IB. He has spent most parts of his career working at the Centre.

Kumar’s appointment came after his predecessor Jain retired in December but had his tenure extended by six months, on account of the general election.