In a bid to give a major boost to border security following the repeated ceasefire violations, especially on the international border with Pakistan, a move is afoot in the Union home ministry to create new frontiers of the Border Security Force (BSF) to be headed by an Inspector General rank officer.
The new move is expected to create a strengthened security grid to cover all gaps in border security, especially in difficult terrains and riverine areas through which the suspected infiltrations of terrorists have been taken place in the last few months.
Field formations in the BSF are headed by an IG and are known as frontier headquarters.
In a fresh order on October 17, the MHA appointed nine new IGs to the BSF on deputation basis for a period of five years. Two of these officers have been shifted laterally—U.C. Sarangi, who was an IG in the National Security Guard, has been shifted to the BSF along with IPS officer Rakesh Agarwal, who was also serving as an IG in the NSG. Abhinav Kumar, who was the personal secretary to former union minister Shashi Tharoor, has also been promoted and posted as an IG in the BSF. He was serving as a DIG in Indo Tibetan Border Police Force.
According to officials, this is the first time that nine senior officers have been posted at one go in the border guarding force. Sources revealed that they would be tasked to head the new frontiers coming in place soon.
The MHA move also comes months after the Madhukar Gupta committee on border security submitted its report to Union home minister Rajnath Singh. The committee, which had been set up in April this year to assess the security scenario along the India-Pakistan border, had noted serious gaps in border security and suggested a string of steps to plug them.
Singh has already given clear directions to the border guarding force to seal all the vulnerable points along the Pakistan border. The BSF has also been asked to set up a real time intelligence sharing grid along with state police forces to act on the intelligence being gathered by the forces in a prompt way to crack down on infiltration bids.
