Ex-CBI special director Rakesh Asthana has been given the additional charge of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India on Wednesday. Asthana, a 1984 batch officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS), is currently serving as the Director-General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
The appointment of Asthana coincides with Vivek Johri, also a 1984 batch-IPS officer, who has been appointed as the director-general of Border Security Force (BSF) (Arun Sharma/HT PHOTO)
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The appointment comes at a time when drug problem in several states, especially in Punjab, has assumed alarming proportions. Earlier this month, the National Investigative Agency (NIA) carried out a 532 Kg Heroin haul from the Wagah-Attari Border – a designated customs and immigration point between India and Pakistan.
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Seeking Central help on the case, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had told the Union Home Ministry that “investigations have revealed the involvement of a major international drug racket based in Pakistan as well as Afghanistan. It seems that traders based in Lahore have been conspiring with Indian companies.”
“It is a clear indication of the importance being given to tackle the drug problem,” a senior official who did not want to be named said.
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The appointment of Asthana coincides with Vivek Johri, also a 1984 batch-IPS officer, who has been appointed as the director-general of Border Security Force (BSF) – the force that guards the Punjab-Pakistan border among others. Also, the government appointed Samat Goel, who was the operations chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), as the head of RAW.
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The appointment of Asthana coincides with Vivek Johri, also a 1984 batch-IPS officer, who has been appointed as the director-general of Border Security Force (BSF) – the force that guards the Punjab-Pakistan border among others. Also, the government appointed Samat Goel, who was the operations chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), as the head of RAW.
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Asthana is also expected to restructure the agency, bringing more synergy between various stake-holders.
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