Vice Admiral Verma first from Bhopal to be Naval Chief

Vice Admiral Nirmal Verma has become the first person from the city of Bhopal to be appointed as the Chief of Naval Staff. Orders to appoint Verma as the Chief of Naval Staff were issued recently by the Ministry of Defence, official sources said here today.

Verma, presently posted as Commander-in-Chief of the Vizag-based Eastern Naval Fleet, will take charge as Chief of Naval Staff on September one succeeding Admiral Suresh Mehta, who retires on August 31, they said.With his appointment as the Chief of Naval Staff, he has become the first person from Bhopal to head any defence service in the country — Navy, Airforce or Army, sources said.

Verma, a student of St Josephs' Convent School at Idgah Hills in the city, joined the National Defence Academy's 35 course, they said. The Admiral-designate, whose father Harishankar Verma is a lawyer and presently living in Mumbai with his another son, Bimal Verma who is also in the Navy as a Rear Admiral, had also taken part in the Convent's Golden Jubilee Aniversary held here three years back, sources said.