New Delhi: The Centre on Friday removed BSF Director General (DG) Nitin Agrawal and his deputy Special DG (West) Y B Khurania, sending them back to their respective state cadres with immediate effect, according to a government order.
The repatriation orders for the two Indian Police Service (IPS) officers come in the backdrop of a spate of terror incidents in the Jammu region, along the India-Pakistan border. At least 22 people, including 11 security personnel and a village defence guard (VDG) member, have been killed this year in such incidents in Rajouri, Poonch, Reasi, Udhampur, Kathua and Doda districts.
The BSF, which is entrusted to guard this front, has denied any instances of infiltration. Five terrorists were also killed in two encounters in Kathua and Doda districts last month.
Separate orders issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) conveyed they were being "prematurely" repatriated with "immediate effect."
Agrawal is a 1989-batch Kerala cadre IPS officer, while Khurania belongs to the 1990-batch of the Odisha cadre. Khurania is expected to be made the head of the police force or the director general of police (DGP) in Odisha where the new BJP government has just taken charge.
Agrawal had taken charge as the Border Security Force chief in June last year and he was scheduled to retire in July, 2026. Khurania, as the special DG (West), was heading the formation of the force along the Pakistan border that runs for about 2,289 kms along Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat in India's western flank.
Interspersed with dense forests and mountainous terrain, the Jammu region accounts for 485 kms of this border. The about 2.65-lakh personnel strong BSF guards Indian borders with Pakistan in the west and Bangladesh in the east.
In a separate order, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet also appointed 1989-batch Odisha cadre IPS officer Amrit Mohan Prasad as a SDG in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
SSB Director General (DG) Daljit Singh Chawdhary will hold the additional charge of the Border Security Force following the premature repatriation of incumbent Nitin Agrawal, a government order said Saturday.
Agrawal, a 1989-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Kerala cadre, was removed as the BSF DG on Friday by an order of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by the prime minister.
A Union home ministry order issued on Saturday said that Chawdhary, a 1990-batch IPS officer of the the Uttar Pradesh cadre, will hold the additional charge of the post of BSF DG "till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier."
Chawdhary is the DG of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the force that guards India's fronts with Nepal and Bhutan. The ACC on Friday ordered similar premature and immediate repatriation of Agrawal's deputy and Special DG (west), Yogesh Bahadur Khurania, to his parent cadre of Odisha.
The government's decision to remove the two top BSF officers comes against the backdrop of the Jammu region, along the India-Pakistan international border, witnessing a spate of terror attacks leading to killing of number of army and security personnel as well as civilians.
The BSF is responsible for guarding the India-Pakistan front on India's west side and Bangladesh on the east.
