New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS): IPS officer Pankaj Kumar Singh on Tuesday took over as the new Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF).

Outgoing Indo-Tibetan Border Police DG S.S. Deswal, who was holding the additional charge as DG BSF, handed over the baton to Singh, who will be the 29th chief of the BSF, the largest border guarding force with over 2,65,000 men and women, and tasked with manning the international borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Singh, who will hold the post till next December, has done a stint in the BSF earlier, serving as Additional DG of its Eastern Command and Special DG in its headquarters.

A Rajasthan cadre officer, he has served in various capacities in the state, including as Inspector General, Law and order, IGP, Personnel, IGP, Jaipur Range, and Additional DG of Crime Branch and Traffic.

During his stay in the Crime Branch, he, along with his team, had cracked the nexus between gun manufacturers, bureaucrats and gangsters in Jammu and Kashmir for giving out arms licenses without proper verification.

In his first stint of central deputation, Singh had served in Central Bureau of Investigation at the ranks of Superintendent of Police and Deputy Inspector General and also served in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as Inspector General (Ops), West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and New Delhi.

He has also served in the United Nations International Police Task Force in Bosnia.

Son of former UP Police and BSF chief Prakash Singh, Singh has been decorated with the UN Peace Medal (Bar), the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service, and the Police Medal for Meritorious Service and also with several DG's discs and commendations.