Srinagar senior superintendent of police Rakesh Balwal, who has expertise in handling terror-related cases, has been “prematurely” repatriated to the Manipur cadre against the backdrop of the fresh bout of violence that has worsened the already tense situation in the northeastern state.

The 2012-batch IPS officer, who was shifted to the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre in December 2021, will be assigned a new posting in Manipur, which has been witnessing ethnic clashes since May this year.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for premature repatriation of Rakesh Balwal, IPS, from AGMUT cadre to Manipur cadre,” an official order said.

Balwal, who is a resident of Udhampur in Jammu, has served in Manipur police in various capacities with the last being senior superintendent of police, Churachandpur, in 2017. He has been posted in Thobal and Imphal as well.

He took over as SSP Srinagar at a time when the city was witnessing a lot of terror activities, including the killing of minorities in Jammu and Kashmir and attacks on policemen.

After taking over, Balwal focussed on improving the law-and-order situation within the city, ensuring that the presence of terrorists was reduced to near zero and maintaining that no attacks were carried out. It was during his tenure that a Muharram procession was allowed on the roads after three decades in Srinagar and public participation in the Independence Day programme was permitted this year. International events like the hosting the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting were conducted peacefully during his tenure.