Lt. Gen. Devraj Anbu has been appointed as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS). He is presently GOC-in-C (General Officer Commanding-in-Chief) Northern Command. He will replace Lt. Gen. Sarath Chand who retires on May 31.
The orders for Lt. Gen. Anbu’s appointment were issued on Thursday morning. He will take over the new appointment on June 1. He had taken over as the Northern Army Commander in December 2016.
Commissioned in Sikh Light Infantry in 1980, Lt. Gen. Anbu has commanded a Corps in the North East. There was widespread speculation over the delay in announcing the name of the new Vice Chief of Army Staff as the appointment was falling vacant in a week’s time.
Lt. Gen. Anbu is expected to be replaced by Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh as the GOC-in-C Northern Command. Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh was the Director General Military Operations (DGMO) at the time surgical strikes.