Alok Joshi to head RAW, Asif Ibrahim to be next IB chief

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cleared the name of Joshi, a 1976 batch officer from Haryana cadre, to succeed Sajeev Tripathi as chief of Research and Analysis Wing, an organisation entrusted with the task of gathering external intelligence.

Joshi has served in Intelligence Bureau and Haryana Police with key operations in Nepal and Pakistan to his credit.

Another contender for the RAW post was Amitabh Mathur, a 1977 batch IPS officer, who has been moved to Aviation Research Centre (ARC), an organisation which forms part of RAW and is entrusted with gathering of imagery intelligence, Aerial surveillance, monitoring of borders and photo reconnaissance flights.

59-year-old Ibrahim, a 1977 batch IPS officer from Madhya Pradesh cadre, will take over as officer on special duty on December one, a procedure for smooth transition of power from the incumbent Director to the new one, official sources said.

The name of Ibrahim was cleared by the ACC and a formal order is expected to be out in a day or two, the sources said. He will be taking over from Nehchal Sandhu who retires on December 31.

Ibrahim will have a fixed tenure of two years beginning January one, 2013. The second in command at present in the organisation R N Gupta, a 1976 batch IPS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, has been shifted as Officer on Special Duty to the Cabinet Secretariat while V Rajagopal of the same batch from UT cadre, has moved to Joint Intelligence Committee.

Yashovardhan Azad, a 1976 batch officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, who was also in the reckoning for the post of DIB, has been shifted as Secretary (Security), an organisation under the Cabinet Secretary, and is the administrative head of the Special Protection Group (SPG), responsible for closely monitoring the security arrangements of the Prime Minister, former Prime Ministers and members of their immediate families in India and abroad.

The Secretary (Security) is also actively involved in the preparation and review of Crisis Management Plan and National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) besides review and updating of Union War Book.

The fourth senior officer S Jayaraman, a 1977 batch officer of West Bengal cadre, moves to National Police Academy at Hyderabad.

Ibrahim, who is at present in Special Director in the organisation after his return from London where he served as Minister (Coordination), has been with the IB for nearly three decades and served the organisation in various capacities handling operations, Kashmir, Naxal, security and cyber security.

He was also Private Secretary to Madhavrao Scindia and Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.

Ibrahim is the first Muslim who has risen to the top most post of the prestigious organisation since Independence.

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