Who is Tapan Kumar Deka? 'Superspy’ gets one year extension as Intelligence Bureau chief

Tapan Kumar Deka, the chief of Intelligence Bureau (IB), was on Tuesday given 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.

He is known as the ‘superspy’ with commendable expertise in handling terrorism related cases.

Deka's term was to end next month.

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.

His extension is “in relaxation of the provisions of FR 56 (d) and Rule 16 (1A) of All India Services (Death cum Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958”, it said.

The rules allow the central government to extend in “public interest” the services of the chiefs of IB and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Cabinet Secretary, Home Secretary and others, beyond 60 years age of superannuation.

Who is Tapan Kumar Deka?

— Appointed as the IB chief for two years in 2022.

—In 2024, the tenure of Deka was extended till June 2025.

— Known as the crisis manager in the power corridors and intelligence fraternity.

— Considered an expert in ‘operations’ especially in Jammu and Kashmir as well as in the Northeast region.

— Served as the head of the operations wing of the IB for over two decades.

— He was also in charge of the counter-assaults during the 26/11 Mumbai attack in 2008.

— He had led the operations against the terror group Indian Mujahideen, which was behind a series of subversive activities across the country in the 2000s.

— He was deputed in his home state Assam to handle the volatile situation that arose following the large-scale violence after the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019.