Former Maharashtra DGP Jaiswal takes over as new CISF chief

Former Maharashtra DGP Subodh Kumar Jaiswal on Friday took over as the new chief of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that is primarily tasked to guard major Indian civil airports and vital infrastructure in the aerospace and nuclear domain.

The 1985-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour before he took charge as the 28th chief of the force at the CISF headquarters at Lodhi Road in central Delhi.

Jaiswal, 58, who was heading the Maharashtra Police since February 28, 2019, was appointed as the director general (DG) of the about 1.62 lakh personnel strong CISF by the central government last month.

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) DG Kumar Rajesh Chandra was handling the additional charge of the CISF after incumbent Rajesh Ranjan retired on November 30 last year.

Jaiswal is set to retire from service in September, 2022.

He has earlier served with the Special Protection Group (SPG) that secures the Prime Minister and with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the country's external intelligence agency during his central deputation tenure.

A CISF spokesperson said the new DG hold a Masters degree in Business Administration and has held "many important and sensitive positions" in Maharashtra Police including in the Left Wing Extremism affected district of Gadchiroli.

He said the new chief has also served in the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad, the Maharashtra police special investigation team (SIT) and the state reserve police force.

Senior CISF officers briefed the new DG about the latest operational details and he is expected to go through detailed presentations of various CISF units and wings over the next few days, a senior officer said.

The CISF was raised in 1969 and it is designated as the national civil aviation security force as it secures 63 airports at present apart from other vital infrastructure in the public and private domain.