NEW DELHI, Jul 2:Former Calcutta police commissioner RK Pachnanda took over as director-general of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

The 1983 batch Bengal cadre IPS officer took charge of the paramilitary force in the backdrop of a face-off between Indian and Chinese troops on the border in Sikkim.

The ITBP guards the 3,488km border with China that passes through five states - Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. On the Chinese side, the People's Armed Police, also a paramilitary force, stands guard. The People's Liberation Army remains behind this first line of defence.

"Senior ITBP officials briefed the new director-general about the status of its current deployment along the border considering the ongoing strained relationship between India and China," an official said.

Amid simmering tension with China, the Narendra Modi government has decided to increase the presence of its border guard force. "The Centre has recently taken a decision to increase the presence of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police by 6,000 considering incidents of transgression by the Chinese People's Armed Police," a Union home ministry official said.

Pachnanda, who was serving as the director-general of the National Disaster Response Force, has succeeded Krishna Chaudhary.

The ITBP was raised on October 24, 1962, and has 90,000 personnel.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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