IPS officer Sanjay Singhal takes charge as SSB DG

New Delhi, Sep 1 (PTI) IPS officer Sanjay Singhal on Monday took charge as the new director general (DG) of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), India's federal border guarding force along Nepal and Bhutan.

Singhal, 57, took charge at the headquarters of the about 80,000 personnel strong force in the R K Puram area of Delhi after he was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour by the troops, a force spokesperson said.

The vacancy at the top SSB post arose following the retirement of former DG A M Prasad on August 31. The Union government had issued an order on July 29 appointing Singhal as the new SSB chief.

The SSB, which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), is primarily tasked to guard unfenced international Indian borders with Nepal (1,751 km) and Bhutan (699 km), apart from rendering a variety of duties in the internal security domain of the country.

The 1993-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre has served in various capacities in his home state, apart from serving in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Border Security Force (BSF) at the Centre. He was last posted as a Special DG with the BSF at its headquarters here.

Singhal, a BE in mechanical engineering, was awarded a police gallantry medal in 2009 and is scheduled to retire from service in December 2028. PTI NES RHL