Dadwal takes over as SSB chief

NEW DELHI: Senior IPS officer Y S Dadwal on Wednesday took over as the new chief of the paramilitary Sashastra Seema Bal ( SSB) after he handed over his earlier charge of Delhi Police Commissioner.

The post of the Director General of SSB, which guards the 'open' Indian borders with Nepal and Bhutan, was lying vacant since October 31 when the earlier incumbent M V Krishna Rao had retired.

59-year-old Dadwal, a 1974-batch IPS officer, had a stint of over three years as Delhi Police Commissioner during which he was credited for the foolproof security arrangements during the Commonwealth Games here.

He was accorded a guard of honour on his arrival from Delhi Police headquarters where he earlier handed over his charge to 1975-batch IPS officer B K Gupta.

Dadwal was briefed about the force's history and duties by senior SSB officers after he assumed his new post.

A power-point presentation of the SSB's deployment, formations and various units across the country was also presented to the new chief at the force' headquarters here.

On his new responsibility, Dadwal had earlier said that he will have to "study first" and only then he could give comments on his assignment.

The SSB guards 1,751 kilometres of Indo-Nepal border and 699 kilometres of Indo-Bhutan border. Dadwal is the 11th DG of SSB which comprises about 50,000 personnel.