Mahesh Dixit, a 1993-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre and a qualified medical doctor, has been appointed the next Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), becoming the first medical doctor to head India's premier internal intelligence agency.
Dixit, who will assume office on July 1, succeeds Tapan Deka, who is retiring after a four-year tenure. According to officials, Deka's decision not to seek a third extension paved the way for Dixit's appointment.
A postgraduate in medicine from Pune, Dixit secured the 35th rank in the Union Public Service Commission's Civil Services Examination but chose the IPS over the more sought-after Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Foreign Service (IFS). Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, he became part of the Telangana cadre.
During his career spanning more than three decades, Dixit has built extensive experience in counter-terrorism and internal security. He began his policing career by combating Left Wing Extremism as a district Superintendent of Police before moving to the Intelligence Bureau, where he handled cases related to Islamist terrorism in Hyderabad.
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He has also served in key field assignments as the head of Subsidiary Intelligence Bureaux (SIBs) in Kohima and Patna, besides a foreign posting in Moscow.
Currently serving as Special Director in charge of the Intelligence Bureau's counter-terrorism division, Dixit has overseen operations aimed at tackling Pakistan-backed terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. He has spent nearly a decade working on Kashmir-related assignments, both in Srinagar and at the Intelligence Bureau headquarters.
Officials credit him with playing an important role in the security planning surrounding the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A in Jammu and Kashmir, working alongside senior officials, including current Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He was also closely involved in monitoring security developments along the 1,597-km Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.
As head of the Intelligence Bureau's Kashmir wing, Dixit is also said to have played a key role in the operations following the Pahalgam terror attack and in maintaining stability in the Valley.
Colleagues from his civil services batch recall that Dixit had chosen the IPS with the clear intention of joining the Intelligence Bureau, a goal he has now realised by rising to head India's internal intelligence apparatus.
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