‘Don’t Miss This’: NSA Ajit Doval shares his ‘unmissable’ IPS days story with IIT Roorkee graduate
Sep 19, 2026
Roorkee (Uttarakhand), September 19, 2026(ANI): At the IIT Roorkee Convocation, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said, "I was a young IPS officer, new to the intelligence profession. I was in my 20s, and I was posted as in charge of intelligence in Sikkim. That was not a part of India at that time. It was becoming part of India. I was part of that process where the merger was taking place. But my responsibility also included looking after the border areas and collecting intelligence about the movement of the PLA, activities of the Chinese Army... So, once, we had an intelligence mission in the border area, and about eight days later, they had to return. So, five days went by, then ten days went by, then perhaps 15 days went by. For me, it was a matter of very great concern, not only professionally but also on the human side, that so many people—we don't know whether they are dead or alive, and what has happened to them. We got no reports of any avalanche or anything. It was a matter of deep worry and concern. But I got a telephone call from the headquarters, and my boss told me, "Have you sent some people across?" I said, "I do not know. They must be coming. They should have come in five or six days, but now it is about ten or eleven days." He said, "They are in Chinese custody now." They were caught by the Chinese and interrogated. Anyway, the Chinese returned them, probably after some talks or negotiations, or a deal must have been struck. So, they returned totally shattered, in shambles. And an inquiry was started. I knew that this was the end of my career. I was still in my twenties, and I had to start a new career. I saw the incident as something very unprofessional. Anyway, the inquiry was over. I wasn't found at fault. Probably, I had done everything right. The sketches and the maps that were given to us by the headquarters had some defects and mistakes in them. That is how it happened..."
