The central government on Friday removed BSF Director General (DG) Nitin Agrawal and his deputy Special DG (West) YB Khurania, sending them back to their respective state cadres with immediate effect.
The repatriation orders come in the backdrop of a series of terror incidents in the Jammu region, along the India-Pakistan border.
This year, at least 22 people, including 11 security personnel and a village defence guard (VDG) member, have lost their lives in such terror incidents in the districts of Rajouri, Poonch, Reasi, Udhampur, Kathua and Doda.
The Border Security Force, which is entrusted to guard this border front, has denied any cases of infiltration.
Notably, five terrorists were also killed in the two encounters in Kathua and Doda districts in July.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) issued separate orders for the two IPS officers and said that they were being "prematurely" repatriated with "immediate effect".
"Lack of command and control within the force and lack of coordination with other sister agencies led to his repatriation," a senior officer was quoted as saying by NDTV.
"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 said, adding that, "In light of heightened actions in south of Pir Panjal, of which the BSF holds a chunk of the International Boundary, the buck stops with the DG and Special DG BSF."
A 1989-batch Kerala cadre IPS officer, Nitin Agrawal took charge as the chief of BSF in June, 2023 and was scheduled to retire in July, 2026.
Meanwhile, YB Khurania, a 1990-batch IPS officer of the Odisha cadre -- 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, news agency PTI reported.
Khurania is likely to be made the head of the police force or the director general of police (DGP) in Odisha, the state where the BJP government has freshly taken charge.
The Jammu region, covered with dense forests and mountainuous terrains, accounts for 485 kms of the Pakistan border that is looked over by Khurania.
Notably, around 2.65 lakh personnel-strong Border Security Force guards the Indian borders with Pakistan in the west and Bangladesh in the east.
The ACC also issued a separate for the appointment of 1989-batch Odisha cadre IPS officer Amrit Mohan Prasad as a SDG in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
