Manipur violence | MHA repatriates Pulwama probe IPS officer to State

Cabinet approves MHA's proposal to prematurely repatriate IPS officer Rakesh Balwal from AGMUT cadre to Manipur. Balwal headed NIA team that probed 2019 Pulwama attack. 40 IPS officers sent to Manipur in June, Home Minister Amit Shah informed all-party meeting.

The Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet has approved the Ministry of Home Affairs’ proposal to prematurely repatriate IPS officer Rakesh Balwal, posted as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Srinagar, from AGMUT cadre to Manipur.

The decision comes three months after the all-party meeting called by Home Minister Amit Shah in June regarding the prevailing situation in Manipur, in which he informed the members that 40 IPS officers have been sent to the State.

Officer Balwal, who headed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) team that probed the 2019 Pulwama attack, was appointed as the Senior Superintendent of Police to Srinagar in December 2021, after it faced growing militant attacks.

He is a 2012 batch IPS officer, was moved from the Manipur cadre to the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre for a period of three years in a relaxation of policy in November 2021.

Earlier, he served the NIA on deputation and headed the investigation into the Pulwama attack, which left 40 Central Reserve Police Force jawans dead in 2019. He is believed to be the mind behind the exhaustive 13,500-page NIA charge-sheet filed before a special court in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr. Balwal also worked with the American intelligence agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to look into the role of the Jaish-e-Muhammad in the Pulwama attack.