BSF chief, deputy removed with immediate effect

Director General of India's Border Security Force (BSF) Nitin Agrawal and his deputy Special DG (West) YB Khurania were removed and sent back to their state cadres, according to a government order.

Agrawal is a 1989-batch Kerala cadre officer, who had taken charge as the BSF chief in June last year, while Khurania, a 1990-batch Odisha cadre officer, was heading the formation of the force along the Pakistan border as the special DG (West).

Separate orders issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet said they were being "prematurely" repatriated with "immediate effect."

According to sources, constant infiltration from the international border is one of the factors behind this move, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Additionally, lack of command and control within the force and lack of coordination with other sister agencies led to the BSF chief's repatriation, said a senior officer, requesting 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. In light of heightened actions in south Pir Panjal, of which the BSF holds a chunk of the International Boundary, the buck stops with the DG and Special DG BSF," he added.

This is the first time that heads have rolled in terror-related cases. No accountability was fixed by the home ministry even after the Pulwama attack in 2019.

The BSF currently employs some 2.65 lakh personnel who guard the west border with Pakistan and the east border with Bangladesh.