Senior IPS officer B D Sharma today retired as the Director General of border guarding force SSB, even as the government is understood to be considering appointing a woman as the chief of the paramilitary for the first time.
Sharma, a 1980-batch officer of West Bengal cadre, had taken over the charge as DG of Sashastra Seema Bal, which guards Indian borders with Nepal and Bhutan, in August, 2014 and has completed 36 years in service.
Officials said Sharma will handover the charge to Additional DG S S Deswal tomorrow as no new chief has been appointed.
"It is expected that a woman IPS officer could soon be appointed as the new SSB chief. It would be the first time a woman would head a paramilitary force," they said.
Sharma, during his farewell speech to his troops on January 29, asked them to "always respect the sovereignty of India's friendly neighbours while performing their duties on the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders".
"Remain sensitive, respect others, serve and protect," he told his personnel and officers during the parade held on his superannuation.
The SSB, a 60,000-strong force, is mandated to guard Indian borders with Nepal and Bhutan even as it is deployed for a variety of internal security duties including conducting anti-Naxal operations in states of Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
