SSP Srinagar repatriated to Manipur cadre

Srinagar: The Union Home Ministry Thursday ordered the transfer of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar Rakesh Balwal to Manipur.

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

The decision comes three months after the All-Party Meeting called by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in June regarding the prevailing situation in Manipur, in which he informed the members that 40 IPS officers had 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 SSP Srinagar in December 2021, after it faced growing terror attacks.

He is a 2012 batch IPS officer, who was moved from the Manipur cadre to the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre for three years in relaxation of the 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 (CRPF) soldiers dead in 2019.

He is believed to be the mind behind the exhaustive 13,500-page NIA chargesheet filed before a special court in Jammu and Kashmir.