NEW DELHI: The removal of Border Security Force Director General (DG) Nitin Aagarwal and his deputy Special DG (West) YB Khurania has led to a buzz on whether the move was linked to the recent spurt in terror incidents in the Jammu region where the BSF guards 200 kms of International Border and the Line of Control.
However, sources in the know of the development told this newspaper that the two IPS officers have been repatriated to their home cadres Kerala and Odisha “not because of any operational reasons, but due to serious differences they had with their junior officers.”
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took the decision on Friday following a proposal from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to send back the two officers to their parent cadres with immediate effect.
A source, while confirming the reasons for their repatriations, said, “The DG BSF was sent back to home cadre not because of any operational reasons or professional limitations. There existed serious differences between him and his juniors at senior positions. Several times they were nudged by senior officers in the MHA to sort out the differences and focus on the most important assignments of managing the crisis and guarding borders.”
Elaborating the reasons for the repatriation, the sources said the force is deployed in key locations and the situation was going from bad to worse and it reached a level where they started claiming “my force versus your force”, which is not in sync with the “no-nonsense approach” of the home ministry.
Earlier too, Union Home Secretary LC Goel was removed along with Additional Secretary (Home), sources said.
Agarwal had taken charge as BSF DG in June last year, while Khurania, as the special DG (West), was heading the force’s formation along the Pakistan border.
Agarwal was repatriated two years before his tenure was to end. “The appointments committee of cabinet has approved the proposal of the MHA for premature repatriation of Nitin Agarwal, IPS KL (89), DG, BSF to his parent cadre with immediate effect,” a government order said.