Who is Rakesh Asthana; new Director General of Border Security Force

The central government has appointed IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as the Director-General of Border Security Force (BSF). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal to appoint the Gujarat-cadre officer as the BSF chief till July 31, 2021, when he is slated to retire.

Who is Rakesh Asthana?

A 1984-batch Gujarat-cadre IPS officer was born in Ranchi in 1961. Asthana is presently posted as DG of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), with additional charge of DG, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Asthana will continue to hold the additional charge of NCB apart from the BSF assignment.

He served as the Special Director at the Central Bureau of Investigation. It was during that stint, he had clashed with then-director Alok Verma, who had registered a bribery case against Asthana. In February this year, Asthana was given a clean chit.

Other postings

The panel also approved the appointment of VSK Kaumudi, 1986-batch Andhra Pradesh cadre officer, as Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Home Ministry till November 30, 2022, the officer's retirement date.

Kaumudi is presently posted as DG of Bureau of Police Research and Development.

The committee also approved the appointment of Jaweed Akhtar, a 1986-batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, as DG, Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guard till July 31, 2021, when he is slated to retire.

Akhtar currently is Special DG in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

The BSF was headed by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General SS Deswal as a stop-gap arrangement for over five months after then BSF chief Vivek Johri was repatriated to his parent cadre Madhya Pradesh on March 11.

(Additional inputs from agency)