New Delhi: Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Tapan Kumar Deka was on Tuesday given a one-year extension till June 2026, according to a Personnel Ministry order. Deka is a 1988-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension in service of Deka as the Director, Intelligence Bureau, for a period of one year beyond June 30, 2025, the order said.
This is the second time Tapan Deka, a counter-terrorism expert, got an extension as IB chief. Deka was appointed as the head of the Intelligence Bureau in June 2022 for a period of two years and was granted an extension for a year in June 2024.
Tapan Deka has expertise in handling cases related to terrorism and radicalisation. Through Deka’s appointment, who succeeded former Intelligence Bureau Director Arvind Kumar, the Centre had earlier superseded Special Director AS Rajan a 1987 batch officer from Bihar, and also Anish Dayal, Manoj Yadav, Manoj Lal, Amitabh Rajan - all his batch mates from 1988 batch.
Deka is one of the top intelligence official, who is an expert in handling anti-terror cases with origins in Pakistan. Deka’s role was especially important in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s response in the form of Operation Sindoor. An expert on North-East, Deka was chosen by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and sent to Assam after the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) violence in 2019.
Deka, who hails from Assam's Barpeta district, was brought up in Tezpur. He was handling the operation wing of IB when Indian Mujahideen was at its peak.
