Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed Samant Goel, the mastermind of the attempted Indian air strike at Balakot on February 26, as the next chief of the spy agency, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and Arvind Kumar as the Director, Intelligence Bureau.
Before being appointed R&AW chief, Goel was heading operations for the external intelligence agency and was instrumental in planning the February 2019 Balakot air strikes as well as the 2016 surgical strikes which India claimed to have carried out inside Pakistan.
Goel has handled Punjab militancy at its peak in the 1990s and is a Pakistan expert, Hindustan Times reported.
A mild-mannered police officer, Samant Goel has impeccable integrity, said a senior R&AW officer.
Arvind Kumar has been closely involved in tackling left-wing extremism at the Intelligence Bureau. He is holding the charge as special director Kashmir at the intelligence agency.