New Delhi: Amid a spate of targeted attacks on security forces in the Jammu region, suspected to be originating from increased infiltrations of militants from Pakistan, the Centre Friday prematurely repatriated the Border Security Force (BSF) director general and the BSF special director general to their parent cadres.
Two separate notifications released by the personnel and training department said the cabinet appointments committee approved the home affairs ministry proposal for the repatriations of BSF chief Nitin Agarwal and BSF Western Command head Y.B. Khurania, with immediate effect.
A 1989-batch Kerala cadre IPS officer, Agarwal was appointed as BSF chief last June for three years till his retirement on 31 July 2026, or till further orders, which came Friday.
On the other hand, Khurania from the Odisha cadre was first inducted into the BSF in September 2018 as an inspector general-rank officer and was, in 2021, promoted to an additional director general-rank officer. He was appointed as chief of Western Command in September last year.
ThePrint has reached out to spokespersons of the MHA and BSF. The story will be updated if and when they respond.
The Western Command is responsible for securing the international border with Pakistan in the Jammu division. Security forces, including the personnel of the Indian Armed Forces (IAF), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the BSF, and the Jammu and Kashmir Police, have suffered losses of more than 50 personnel since 2021 in this region.
ThePrint has earlier reported how 11 security personnel have lost their lives, including four Army jawans in Doda, five soldiers on 8 July in Kathua, one IAF personnel in May in Poonch, and a CRPF personnel in June this year so far.
Additionally, security forces suffered 20 casualties last year, drawing statements of concern from top officers in the security establishment.
Army Chief General Manoj Pande, earlier this year, said that Pakistan has been working hard to abet terrorism in Jammu because the overall security situation in the Valley is improving. He has called developments in the two border districts of Rajouri and Poonch a “cause of concern”.
ThePrint has earlier reported that sources in the security establishment have seen a revival of old infiltration routes and a change in the strategy of militants. They are now choosing to stay for long periods in the dense, forested areas in the Jammu division instead of quickly moving to the Kashmir Valley as in the past decades, and this has been driving up militancy and attacks on security forces in Jammu.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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