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NEW DELHI: The government late on Wednesday made three Director General-level appointments in Central police organisations and armed police forces, naming NIA special DG Rakesh Aggarwal, who had been serving as interim head of NIA following the premature repatriation of incumbent Sadanand Date last month, as its regular DG. Also upgraded to the post of BSF DG is Praveen Kumar, who was acting as chief of the border guarding force since the retirement of Daljit Singh Chawdhary in November 2025.Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor, a former DGP of Haryana belonging to the 1990 batch, will be the new DG of ITBP. Aggarwal, a 1994 batch IPS officer from Himachal Pradesh cadre, will be leading NIA at a time when important terror investigations, including those pertaining to the Pahalgam terror attack case; 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks conspiracy involving the role of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who was extradited from the US last year; terror-gangster-drug traffickers nexus; and Left-wing extremism, are at a crucial stage. With a chargesheet filed in the Pahalgam terror attack case only last month, the trial is set to start soon; meanwhile, NIA continues to gather more evidence on linkages of the conspiracy with Pakistan.Praveen Kumar, who had been serving as ITBP DG while also handling the additional charge as BSF DG, is a 1993 batch IPS officer from West Bengal cadre. BSF is in charge of securing the India-Bangladesh border, which has become sensitive after the regime change in Bangladesh in August 2024. There have been incidents of violence against Hindus in the neighbouring country, besides a rise in infiltration attempts on the international border. With the West Bengal assembly poll around the corner, BSF is set to raise vigil at the border outposts and illegal crossing points.For Shatrujeet Kapoor, who had to proceed on leave in August 2025 after his name figured along with over a dozen officers in a suicide note left behind by IPS officer Y Puran Kumar. The note had accused these officers of practising harassment and caste discrimination against the deceased. The Haryana govt, then under pressure due to the allegations, had replaced Kapoor with O P Singh as its head of police force (HoPF), while asking the former to proceed on leave. Kapoor had subsequently requested a Central assignment. As per Kumar’s appointment order, he will serve at ITBP helm till his superannuation in October 2026, or until further notice, whichever is earlier.
