Ajit Doval

Ajit Doval is an Indian former police and intelligence officer who serves as the National Security Adviser of India. He was born on 20 January 1945 in Pauri Garhwal, in what is now Uttarakhand.

Doval joined the Indian Police Service in 1968 in the Kerala cadre and moved to the Intelligence Bureau in 1972. He was Director of the Intelligence Bureau from 31 July 2004 to 31 January 2005. In 1989 he received the Kirti Chakra for Operation Black Thunder II, and Wikipedia records him as the first police officer to receive that award.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed him National Security Adviser on 30 May 2014. He was reappointed on 3 June 2019 with the rank of Cabinet Minister and received a third five year extension on 13 June 2024.

His name features in a civil lawsuit filed in a US court by Pannun, who founded the group Sikhs for Justice. On 19 September 2024, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri rejected the summons, calling the allegations “completely unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations”. Outlook India reported on 2 April 2025 that a US district judge found Pannun had not validly served Doval during a Washington visit in February 2025.

Sources: Wikipedia, ThePrint, Outlook India