Vice Admiral Robin K Dhowan likely to take over as next Navy Chief

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Vice Admiral Robin K Dhowan is most likely to be the next chief of the Indian Navy with reports on Wednesday suggesting that the Defence Ministry has recommended his name to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the coveted post. The post of Navy chief has been lying vacant for nearly two months since DK Joshi suddenly quit in the wake of a series of mishaps that hit the naval forces recently. Vice Admiral Dhowan, who has been the acting Navy chief since Joshi`s exit, was in contention for the top job along with Western Navy Commander Shekhar Sinha and Eastern Commander Anil Chopra. Vice Admiral Sinha is the senior-most among the three but he has been edged out of the race, apparently because majority of the 14 mishaps, including two major submarine accidents, took place under his command during the last 10 months. "The Defence Ministry has recommended the name of acting chief Vice Admiral Robin Dhowan for the appointment and the Prime Minister`s Office will go through the file before taking a final decision on the matter," top government sources said. If confirmed by the Prime Minister, 59-year-old Dhowan will have a tenure of 25 months as Chief of Naval Staff. Admiral Joshi, who had 15 months left in service, resigned on February 26 in the wake of a mishap involving submarine INS Sindhuratna in which two Navy officers lost their lives and several others were left injured. A few months earlier, another submarine Sindhurakshak had drowned, killing 18 personnel on board. The sudden resignation by Admiral Joshi resulted in the change in the line of succession of the Navy. Had he retired in August next year as per his tenure, Southern Navy Commander Vice Admiral Satish Soni would have become the next chief. In the new circumstances, National Defence College Commandant Vice Admiral Sunil Lamba is expected to be the successor of Dhowan in May 2016. With PTI inputs