Samant Goel, one of the chief planners of the recent Balakot air strikes, was appointed the head of India’s foreign intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) on Wednesday, 26 June. Arvind Kumar was appointed the Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), reported Hindustan Times
The appointments were made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also acts as the chairman of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
According to the report, Goel was heading the operations for the external intelligence agency and was one of the main people behind the planning of the Indian Air Force’s Balakot air strikes on 26 February. He also had a part to play in planning the 2016 surgical strikes carried out after the terror attack in Uri.
Arvind Kumar, the report said, has been closely involved in tackling left-wing extremism at the IB. He also holds charge as the special director of Kashmir at the intelligence agency.
