In an unprecedented shake-up, the Centre has removed Border Security Force (BSF) Director General Nitin Agrawal and his deputy, Special DG (West) YB Khurania, with "immediate effect".
The abrupt move was announced in a government order issued on Friday, which stated that both officers were being prematurely repatriated to their respective state cadres.
Agrawal, a 1989-batch Kerala cadre officer, and Khurania, from the 1990-batch Odisha cadre, were relieved of their duties amid rising concerns over infiltration and security lapses along the International Border.
Agrawal, who took charge as BSF chief in June last year, and Khurania, who was overseeing operations along the Pakistan border, were both subjected to complaints regarding critical issues such as lack of coordination and command within the force. Sources revealed that the decision was driven by increasing infiltration incidents and a perceived deficiency in effective leadership.
"Lack of command and control within the force and lack of coordination with other sister agencies led to his repatriation," a senior officer disclosed under the condition of anonymity.
"Premature repatriation to the cadre of two very senior officers is definitely a strong message from the government to the forces to get their act together," the officer added.
This marks the first time heads have rolled in terror-related cases, even after the significant Pulwama attack in 2019, where accountability was not publicly fixed by the Home Ministry.
The BSF, a force of approximately 2.65 lakh personnel, is tasked with guarding India's borders with Pakistan in the west and Bangladesh in the east.
The Centre's decision coincides with the rollout of a new security matrix for Jammu and Kashmir, aimed at countering the recent surge in attacks targeting civilians and military personnel.
The escalation includes an attack on an army camp in Rajouri last week, which resulted in one soldier being injured.
In the past two months, the southern reaches of the Pir Panjal region have witnessed a troubling increase in ambushes and attacks, an area previously considered relatively dormant in terms of terrorist activity.
A notable incident involved an operation where two army officers were killed and two Pakistani terrorists, including a Lashkar-e-Taiba sniper and explosives expert, were eliminated.
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