New Delhi, January 24
Former Chief of the Army Staff Joginder Jaswant Singh (62) has been appointed Governor of Arunachal Pradesh in the sensitive north east, according to a Rashtrapati Bhawan communiqué.
General Singh, who retired as Army chief in September last after 43 years in service, is the sixth such top defence official to occupy the gubernatorial post now.
The appointment, made by President Pratibha Patil, will be with effect from the date Singh assumes charge of his office, the communique said.
He succeeds K Sankaranarayanan, who as Nagaland Governor is holding additional charge of Arunachal Pradesh.
The others are General S F Rodrigues (Punjab), Lt Gen S K Sinha (Jammu and Kashmir), Lt Gen Ajay Singh (Assam), Lt Gen M M Lakhera (Mizoram) and Lt Gen K M Seth (Chattisgarh), all retired from service.
During his tenure as army chief, Singh spoke with empathy on the issue of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir and acted promptly on complaints against security forces personnel in this regard whenever they cropped up.
