Exclusive: After RPF, Centre Turns to ITBP Succession And CAPF Reshuffle

After the notification of new DG RPF Jitender Kumar, the center is believed to be accelerating the search for the next Director General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Incumbent DG Shatrujeet Kapoor is set to superannuate in a little over two weeks, and the race to succeed him is heating up fast, top sources said.

Top sources say Ritwik Rudra, Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau, has emerged as the clear frontrunner for the top ITBP post,  a move that would make him only the second IB officer in recent memory to head the force, after Rahul Rasgotra. Sources point to his decisive intelligence backing during counter-insurgency operations, crediting him with a key role in the success of the Naxal-free Mission and in forging tighter operational jointness in the fight against Left-wing extremism. "He's been in the queue long enough and suggests he deserves a bigger canvas than ITBP alone," a top source noted.

A CAPF Chessboard Reshuffle

Insiders suggest the brass may be mulling something more ambitious than a simple ITBP handover, with the center possibly elevating Rudra to DG CISF, a bigger and more strategically weighty posting, and shifting the current CISF chief, Praveer Ranjan, laterally to take charge of ITBP. “Such a move would reward Rudra's intelligence pedigree with a heavier mandate,” a top source said.

But Rudra isn't running unopposed. Anand Swaroop, the UP-cadre officer currently serving as Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the MHA, is reportedly pushing hard for an exit from his present role  with ITBP's top chair squarely in his sights. If Swaroop's bid gains traction, sources say it could trigger an even larger shake-up across the CAPFs, with the centre likely forced to reshuffle multiple sitting DGs just to make room for both contenders.