Gujarat cadre IPS officer of 1984-batch Rakesh Asthana took charge as the 27th Director-General of Border Security Force (BSF) on Tuesday (August 18). The Centre had appointed Asthana as the new director-general of the BSF on Monday.
Asthana replaced DG Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) chief S S Deswal who was holding the additional charge of BSF since March 2020. He was presently working at the Director-General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) in Delhi and holds an additional charge of the Narcotics Control Bureau.
In October 2017, Asthana was appointed as the special director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Prior to this on December 2, 2016, he named as interim CBI director by the government. He has earlier also served as SP in CBI in 1994 and has handled the investigation of Bihar’s fodder scam.
Asthana arrested RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in 1997 for the scam and was part of the investigation till 2001. He has also been part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Gujarat government to probe the Godhra train burning incident.