NEW DELHI — Sashastra Seema Bal Director General Sanjay Singhal has been given additional charge as the Director General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, following an order approved by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Singhal, a 1993-batch Indian Police Service officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, will take over the post after the retirement of incumbent ITBP chief Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor on October 31, 2026. He will lead both central armed police forces until a regular appointment is confirmed or further instructions are issued.
Singhal has served as the 27th Director General of the SSB since September 1, 2025, an appointment cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet that runs through December 31, 2028. Before heading the SSB, he served as Special Director General in the Border Security Force and built extensive policing experience in Uttar Pradesh, including tenures as district police chief, in the Provincial Armed Constabulary, and as Additional Director General handling establishment, railways, and crime. A recipient of the President’s Police Medal and the Police Medal, he previously spent seven years in the ITBP between 2008 and 2015, serving as both Deputy Inspector General and Inspector General.
Operational Familiarity Across Challenging Frontiers
His past tenure in the ITBP equips him with operational knowledge of a force tasked with guarding the Line of Actual Control along the India-China border. The deployment covers high-altitude Himalayan terrain stretching from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, where personnel operate under extreme cold and demanding conditions.
The leadership transition comes at a time of sustained operational readiness along the northern frontier. On October 22, outgoing chief Kapoor stated during an official address in Alwar, Rajasthan, that face-offs between Indian and Chinese forces had occurred at several locations in Arunachal Pradesh and were ongoing. Kapoor commended the ITBP Shaurya Commando teams for their response, highlighting the necessity of round-the-clock surveillance and swift tactical deployment across sensitive border sectors.
Personnel Deficit Poses Administrative Hurdles
Alongside frontline security duties, Singhal inherits an organisation dealing with significant manpower constraints. Official data from the Ministry of Home Affairs shows the ITBP has an active strength of 92,803 personnel against an authorised establishment of 1,05,136 posts.
This deficit leaves 12,333 vacancies across ranks, representing approximately 11.7 percent of the force’s sanctioned strength and roughly 13.3 percent of its serving workforce. Managing such vacancies remains a critical task for the leadership, particularly because extended high-altitude deployments and logistical demands place continuous strain on existing personnel.
Dual Leadership Across Distinct Border Domains
Under the dual arrangement, Singhal will balance the ITBP’s Himalayan responsibilities with his existing command of the SSB. The SSB oversees 1,751 kilometres of the open border with Nepal and 699 kilometres bordering Bhutan, where its units work to prevent cross-border crime, curb smuggling, and run local security operations.
The force is also engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir, anti-Naxal deployments across Jharkhand, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh, and routine internal security duties including election security and civil order maintenance. Singhal will supervise the administration, operational readiness, and personnel functions of both central forces until the central government names a regular successor to lead the ITBP.
