Ajit Kumar Doval

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Ajit Kumar Doval was the director of the Intelligence Bureau, India. Doval was India’s main negotiator with the hijackers of Indian Airlines flight IC-184 in Kandahar in 1999.

He is an IPS officer from the 1968 batch of the Kerala cadre. His retired from service on January 31, 2005.

He is supposed to be the best operational man India has ever had. His was actively involved in the Mizo conflict, Punjab conflict, and Kashmir issue.

In Mizoram conflict, Laldenga of Mizo National Front had claimed that Doval had won over 6 of his 7 army commanders. He spent long periods of time incognito with the Mizo National Army in the Arakan in Burma and inside Chinese territory.

In Punjab he was behind the rescue of Romanian diplomat Liviu Radu and the success of Operation Black Thunder. Doval was actually inside the Harimandir Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab, in 1989 during Operation Black Thunder when security forces were charging in to flush out terrorists from there. He is said to have planned out the Punjab state elections of 1992.

Doval spent six years in Pakistan. He went to Kashmir in 1990 and persuaded militants (like Kuka Parrey) to become counter-insurgents targeting hardline anti-India terrorists. This set the way for state elections in Jammu and Kashmir in 1996.

Medals and Awards

Doval was the youngest police officer ever to get the Indian Police Medal for meritorious service. He got it after six years in the police (the norm is at least 17 years’ service).

In 1988, Doval was awarded the second highest gallantry award, the Kirti Chakra (second only to the Paramvir Chakra) becoming the first police officer to get it. Kirti Chakra till then was reserved only for military honours.