New Delhi (PTI): Three Manipur-cadre IPS officers were appointed as chiefs of central paramilitary forces on Thursday, with astute Intelligence Bureau officer Rahul Rasgotra getting the charge of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Nina Singh becoming the first woman to head the Central Industrial Security Force.

She is currently the Special Director General of CISF, which mans airports, Delhi Metro, government buildings and strategic installations throughout the country.

Singh was inducted into the Indian Police Service (IPS) as a Manipur-cadre officer, but she later moved to Rajasthan cadre.

A 1989-batch IPS officer, she has been holding the additional charge of CISF DG since the superannuation of Sheel Vardhan Singh on August 31 this year.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Nina Singh's appointment as the DG, CISF till July 31, 2024, i.e. the date of her superannuation, a Personnel Ministry order stated.

Anish Dayal Singh, a Manipur-cadre IPS officer of 1988 batch, has been made the Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the world's largest paramilitary force. He has been holding the post as an additional charge for the last few weeks besides heading the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

He will head the CRPF until his superannuation on December 31, 2024.

CRPF, with a force strength of about 3.25 lakh personnel, is spread across the length and breadth of the country for maintenance of peace. It plays an active role in countering terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rasgotra, a 1989-batch IPS officer of Manipur cadre, who has spent nearly three decades in the Intelligence Bureau handling important desks, was appointed as the Director General of ITBP, which has a strength of around 90,000 personnel.

The appointment of Rasgotra to the ITBP, which is deployed along the Sino-India border, comes at a time when the paramilitary force will have an additional team of intelligence officers for surveillance and intelligence gathering.

Rasgotra was a special director in the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

He has been appointed to the post till September 30, 2025, i.e. the date of his superannuation, the order said.

Vivek Srivastava, a 1989-batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre, will be Director General, Fire Service, Civil Defence and Home Guards.

He has been appointed to the post till June 30, 2025, i.e. the date of his superannuation, the order said. Srivastava is at present a special director in IB.

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Bhopal/Indore, May 13 (PTI): Madhya Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Vijay Shah has sparked a major controversy with objectionable comments that appeared to be directed at Col Sofia Qureshi, whom he tried to project as a "sister of terrorists."

Under severe flak, Shah said if anyone is hurt by his statement, he is ready to apologise ten times, adding that he respects Colonel Qureshi more than his sister.

The Congress has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Shah from the Madhya Pradesh cabinet.

Colonel Qureshi had conducted regular press briefings, sharing details of the 'Operation Sindoor' launched by Indian armed forces to strike terrorists, joined by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.

"Those people (terrorists) who had wiped out the sindoor (vermilion) of our sisters (in the Pahalgam terror attack)..We avenged these 'kate-pite' people by sending their sister to destroy them," Shah said.

"They (terrorists) killed our Hindu brothers by making them remove their clothes. PM Modi ji responded by sending their (terrorists') sister in an Army plane to strike them in their houses. They (terrorists) made our sisters widows, so Modiji sent the sister of their community to strip them and teach them a lesson", the BJP leader said while addressing a gathering in Ramkunda village near Indore.

He said, "Revenge was taken for the honour of our country (India), respect, and for the (slain) husbands of our sisters by sending a sister from your (terrorists') community to Pakistan".

The tribal welfare minister clarified that his remarks should not be construed otherwise.

Shah's remarks drew wide-scale condemnation, with Congress demanding his immediate dismissal from the MP cabinet.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said Shah, who made 'derogatory' remarks in reference to Colonel Sofia Qureshi, should be dismissed immediately.

"A minister of the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh has made a very derogatory, shameful and cheap remark about our brave daughter Colonel Sofia Qureshi. The terrorists of Pahalgam wanted to divide the country, but the country was united during the entire 'Operation Sindoor' to give a befitting reply to the terrorists," Kharge posted on X.

He alleged that the BJP-RSS harbours an anti-women mentality.

"First, the wife of the naval officer martyred in Pahalgam was trolled on social media, then the daughter of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was harassed, and now the BJP ministers are making such indecent comments about our brave woman Sophia Qureshi," Kharge said and appealed to PM Modi to immediately sack Shah.

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari shared the video of Shah on X and asked whether the BJP agrees with the minister's "low thinking"?

The MP Congress Committee alleged that Shah's "indecent' and hate-filled" statement is not just a personal attack, but an open attack on India's military dignity, national unity, and women's honour.

Amid the raging controversy, the BJP's Madhya Pradesh general secretary Hitanand Sharma summoned Shah to the state headquarters in Bhopal.

According to sources, Sharma reprimanded the minister, who also met the state BJP president, Vishnu Dutt Sharma.

Speaking to reporters, Shah sought to attribute the intemperate remarks to his "disturbed" state of mind in view of the brutal killing of innocent people in Pahalgam by terrorists.

He claimed many members of his family have a military background and many were martyred.

"Sister Sophia has brought glory to India by rising above caste and religion. She is more respected than our own sister. I salute her for her service to the nation.

"We cannot even think of insulting her in our dreams. Still, if my words have hurt society and religion, then I am ready to apologise ten times,'' he added.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Manoj Shukla and the party workers blackened the nameplate of Shah at his bungalow and raised slogans seeking his resignation.