NEW DELHI: Intelligence Bureau (IB) director Tapan Kumar Deka was on Tuesday granted a second one-year extension, which will make him the longest serving head of the domestic intelligence agency since the IB chief’s tenure was fixed at two years in 2005.Deka’s fourth year at the IB’s helm comes in the wake of the success of Operation Sindoor, undertaken by the armed forces in retaliation to the killing of 26 civilians in a terror attack in J&K’s Pahalgam. Nine terror bases in PoK and deep inside Pakistan were hit under the operation and it eventually saw the armed forces strike Pakistan’s key military assets, including an air defence system in Lahore and the Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi.Deka, 62, is a 1988-batch IPS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre. A counter-terrorism expert, he was appointed as IB director in June 2022, and granted a year’s extension upon completion of his two-year tenure in June 2024. On Tuesday, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved yet another one-year extension beyond June 30, 2025, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.The extension was granted in relaxation of the provisions of Fundamental Rule 56(d) — which bars extension in service beyond 60 years of age — and as per Rule 16 (1A) of the All India Services (Death cum Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958, which grants the Centre power to extend the service of specified high-ranking officials “in the public interest”.Earlier, his predecessors Rajiv Jain and Arvind Kumar were granted six-month and one-year extensions, respectively, beyond their fixed terms.Known as an ‘operations man’ in the intelligence fraternity, Deka is considered an expert in ‘operations’ in J&K as well as in the northeast region of the country.Deka was in charge of the counter-assaults during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. With a rich experience in tackling terrorism and Islamic radicalisation, Deka has led operations against the Indian Mujahideen — the terror group behind multiple serial blasts across India — that led to neutralisation of its top cadre based in India, breaking the outfit’s back.Deka was also deputed in his home state Assam to handle the volatile situation that arose following large-scale violence after the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2019.