BSF chief retires, ITBP DG Praveen Kumar given additional charge

Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Praveen Kumar, on Sunday took additional charge of the Border Security Force (BSF) following retirement of the incumbent, Daljit Singh Chawdhary.

Chawdhary, a 1990 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, handed over the official baton to Kumar, a 1993 batch officer of West Bengal cadre, at a BSF camp in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur.

The handing over ceremony — which rarely takes place outside the force headquarters in Delhi — was held in Raipur as the two were there to participate in the DG-IG national police conference from November 28-30.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday issued an order assigning the additional charge of BSF Director General to Kumar “till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier.”

Chawdhary, a four-time police gallantry medal awardee, headed the border force during Operation Sindoor in May 2025, when the Indian military hit terrorist camps in Pakistan in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

He is credited with raising the BSF’s maiden drone squadron and training school, apart from pushing for an increased number of promotions for the force’s personnel and giving out-of-turn promotions to sportspersons who brought laurels for the force.

BSF, with about 2.70 lakh personnel, is primarily tasked with guarding India’s borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh apart from rendering a variety of duties in the country’s internal security domain.