Sanjeev Kumar Tripathi, commonly referred to as Sanjeev Tripathi, is a former Secretary (chief) of India's Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW).
He was originally an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer commissioned in the 1972 batch from Uttar Pradesh cadre and was absorbed into R&AW in December 1978.
Tripathi hails from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. He is the son-in-law of R&AW's 7th chief G.S. Bajpai and reportedly a protegé of 17th chief Ashok Chaturvedi.
Known Academic History:-
MSc in Mathematics from Allahabad University
Diploma in French from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
Known Professional History:-
First Secretary or Minister at Indian High Commission in Mauritius (~1998-2001)
Additional Secretary (Personnel), Headquarters, New Delhi
Chief of Aviation Research Centre (ARC) (2008-2010)
Secretary (2010-12)
Served under the following 16 chiefs:-
N.F. Suntook (1977-83)
G.C. Saxena (1983-86)
S.E. Joshi (1986-87)
A.K. Verma (1987-90)
G.S. Bajpai (1990-91)
N. Narasimhan (1991-93)
J.S. Bedi (1993)
A.S. Syali (1993-96)
Ranjan Roy (1996-97)
Arvind Dave (1997-99)
A.S. Dulat (1999-2000)
Vikram Sood (2000-03)
C.D. Sahay (2003-05)
P.K.H. Tharakan (2005-07)
Ashok Chaturvedi (2007-09)
K.C. Verma (2009-10)
Career Highlights:-
Played a ‘significant role’ in tracking down Sikh separatists operating abroad and get them to India to participate in talks with the Indian government
During his earlier stint in Mauritius, Tripathi ran into a controversy because of 'unauthorised use' of the cultural centre of the Indian High Commission by his wife for holding numerous exhibitions of her paintings
As the ARC chief he managed to ensure that the secretive Tibetan force i.e. Special Frontier Force (SFF) gets pension and retirement benefits. The force has not had these benefits since its creation after the 1962 war with China
Miscelleneous: Tripathi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) two years after superannuation (2014) and was also a member of its Strategic Action Committee.
References
Saikat Datta, 'On Rubber Soles', Outlook, https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/on-rubber-soles/270031
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) - Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying Economy – (CASCADE), https://www.ficcicascade.in/team/sanjeev-tripathi/
Man Mohan, 'It's spy vs spy for top RAW job', Tribune India, https://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101119/main7.htm