Samant Goel, Balakot Air Strikes Planner, Becomes New R&AW Chief; Arvinda Kumar, Naxal Extremism Expert, Gets Appointed IB Director

New Delhi, June 26: Weeks after taking to the office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday appointed Samant Goel as the next chief of India’s external spy agency, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). In another set of appointment, the union government appointed Arvinda Kumar as the Director of Intelligence Bureau.

The new appointment was made by the PM Modi - also the chairman of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet - who cleared the empanelment of 1986 batch IPS officer in the rank of Director General. It is to be known that the new R&AW chief belongs to the Punjab cadre IPS 1984 batch, while Kumar belongs from Assam-Meghalaya cadre. There Was No Intelligence Failure in the Pulwama Attack, Says G Kishan Reddy in Parliament

According to the information received, both the officers will take oath after the current tenure of IB chief Rajiv Jain and R&AW secretary Anil K Dhasmana ends. Earlier, Jain and Dhasmana were appointed in December 2016, but were given a six-month extension as India moved into election mode. Currently, Goel heads operations for the external intelligence agency.

Considering the fact that Goel was instrumental in planning the February 2019 Balakot air strikes and the 2016 surgical strikes, his appointment as new R&AW is not surprising at all. Also, Goel is also known for handling Punjab militancy at its peak in the 1990s and is a Pakistan expert.

On the other side, Kumar - appointed as IB chief - had played an important role in tackling left-wing extremism at the Intelligence Bureau. He is also an expert on Kashmir issue and involved in formulating and executing the Centre’s approach on terrorism in the valley.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 26, 2019 04:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).