Exclusive: Deka's Bonus Year But Shadows Of Intelligence Turf War Keeps It Tight

As the sun sets on what was once considered a transitional tenure, Tapan Kumar Deka — the 1988-batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IPS officer who took charge of India's premier domestic spy agency in June 2022 — is now firmly etched in history. With the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet granting him a rare second consecutive extension in May 2025, pushing his tenure to June 2026, Deka has become the longest-serving Director of Intelligence Bureau.

Yet, as the corridors of Intelligence hum with succession murmurs, a far more intricate story is unfolding beneath the surface — one that has less to do with the next IB chief and far more to do with a quiet, calculated turf war between two Intelligence agencies

To the uninitiated, intelligence postings may appear routine bureaucratic shuffles. To those who inhabit the shadowy world of India's security establishment, every posting is a move on a chessboard — and right now, the Intelligence Bureau appears to be playing an unusually aggressive game on R&AW's board, a top source said. Consider the following

The Turf Battle

Joint Secretary (Personnel) at MEA — historically considered R&AW's domain — was quietly handed to Tarun Kumar, an IPS officer of the Kerala cadre and an IB man, after the return of a senior R&AW officer who had held the post. In another episode National Security Advisor to Mauritius — another posting long regarded as R&AW's strategic perch in the Indian Ocean neighbourhood — was assigned to Rahul Rasgotra, IB's veteran and former DG ITBP. The move came after the departure of Vivek Johri, a long-time R&AW hand who held the post previously. Two postings. Two traditionally R&AW turfs. Both now flying IB colours.

The Flip

The post of Secretary (Security) — the administrative head of the Special Protection Group, long considered an IB preserve — was handed to R&AW Chief Parag Jain, who held the additional charge for nearly seven months before Rajiv Singh from Manipur eventually took over. R&AW had, even if temporarily, planted its flag on IB's traditional ground.

Succession Chessboard

 The race for India's most sensitive domestic intelligence post is moving into its decisive phase. And it is here that the turf war finds its most consequential expression. Within the IB, two names dominate Special Director Mahesh — hardened operationally, with a deep domestic intelligence footprint.

Special Director Rithwik Rudra — widely regarded as the leading contender, a Himachal Pradesh cadre officer who has sharpened his profile considerably in recent years.

Sunil Achaya, Special Secretary and effectively the second-in-command at R&AW, is an officer who has served in IB, He is, according to top sources, being positioned not for the IB's top job, but for something equally significant: the post of Deputy National Security Advisor. The timing is precise. The current Deputy NSA, T.V. Ravichandran — himself a former Special Director of IB — is set to complete his tenure in July 2026. Achaya stepping into that slot would mean R&AW placing a man in a role long dominated by IB officers.

Even in the NSCS, as a top source drily noted, "R&AW will get IB's turf — either in the NSCS or in IB itself." It must be noted that this is not entirely without precedent. The intelligence community has seen the reverse flow before — former R&AW chief A.S. Dulat, the current Chairman of the National Security Advisory Board, similarly traces his institutional roots to IB before rising through the R&AW hierarchy.

The Nuclear Option For Deka

Top sources in the Intelligence community quipped, " What if Deka gets a third extension?

The logic, as explained by top sources, is classically bureaucratic — and politically elegant. The government, in the past, has used extensions to sitting chiefs as a mechanism of elimination by tenure — effectively ageing out one aspirant while the other remains fresh. If Deka is granted an unprecedented third term, the succession arithmetic changes fundamentally. One Special Director's window closes. Should this materialise, Tapan Kumar Deka would achieve something genuinely rare in India's intelligence history — a tenure that rivals those of international spymasters like William Webster at the FBI or Stella Rimington at MI5 in terms of institutional longevity.