Terror expert who was part of 26/11 probe new chief of IB
HT Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) on Friday appointed Tapan Kumar Deka as the new director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the country’s premier domestic spy agency that collects intelligence on terrorism, conflict in regions, threat assessment pertaining to government policies, counter-intelligence and assisting other agencies and police forces. Deka is a 1988-batch Himachal Pradesh cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and is currently posted as a special director of the IB.
According to the ACC order issued on Friday, he will replace Arvinda Kumar, whose tenure ends on June 30. The order added that Deka will lead the IB for two years from the date of assumption of charge or until further orders, whichever is earlier, by granting extension in service.
An expert on the Afghanistanpakistan region, Deka oversaw the crackdown on Pakistanbacked homegrown outfit Indian Mujahideen between 2008 and 2015. He was also at the forefront of the investigation and intelligence gathering after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and has substantial experience in dealing with issues in the Northeast and Pakistan-backed terror activities in Kashmir.
Deka has closely worked on al Qaeda and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and their activities in the Afghanistan-pakistan region, and their impact on India, said a senior officer, who has closely worked with the new IB chief for years.
For the past year, Deka has been handling Kashmir terrorism in the IB. “He is a levelheaded officer, who listens to everybody and will be a great asset, considering things can get testy in the IB,” said another officer.