New Delhi: Mahesh Dixit, a 1993 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has been appointed at the new director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) on Thursday (June 25). An officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, Dixit has spent a significant portion of his 26 years with the IB in Jammu and Kashmir, first from 2009 to 2012 and then from 2020 to 2025.“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Mahesh Dixit, IPS (AP:93), Special Director, Intelligence Bureau as Director Intelligence Bureau vice Shri Tapan Kumar Deka, IPS (HP:88), for a tenure of two years from the date of assumption of the charge of post,” said a Department of Personnel and Training order, notifying Dixit’s appointment.Dixit, who is due to retire in August 2027, has been granted an extension in service under the FR 56(d) provisions and Rule 16(1A) of the All India services (Death cum Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958, reported the Hindu.He succeeds Tapan Kumar Deka, 1998 batch officer from the Himachal Pradesh cadre who has held the post since 2022. Deka’s tenure will complete on June 30.Dixit, a medical doctor by education, has previously served in Nagaland and Bihar, along with acting as the deputy director of the Kashmir Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau, which also oversees operations in Leh besides J&K, for nearly five years. He had assumed charge in 2020 and managed the security preparedness and intelligence-related operations in the erstwhile state following the revocation of Article 370.As per TH report, he is among the Home Ministry officials overseeing talks with civil society leaders from Ladakh. He was also closely involved in the efforts to further dialogue with activist Sonam Wangchuk after the 2024 protests demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the sixth schedule of the constitution.Dixit has been awarded the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service (2016), the Police Medal for Meritorious Service (2009) and Police Antrik Suraksha Seva Padak (2004). According to The Print, an officer who has worked closely with him commended his ability to “engage with difficult stakeholders,” describing him as “a master negotiator.”