Rakesh Balwal is a 2012 batch IPS officer from AGMUT cadre. He is known for leading the National Investigation Agency (NIA) team investigating the Pulwama terror attack case in 2019.
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Wiki/Biography
Rakesh Balwal was born on Tuesday, 2 October 1979 (age 44 years; as in 2023) in Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir. His zodiac sign is Libra. He did B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from Government College of Engineering and Technology, Jammu and Kashmir. He always wanted to be a civil servant, but after completing his schooling he chose mechanical engineering. After his graduation, he became a senior section engineer in the Indian Railways. During his time, he felt the lack of direct contribution to the society, due to which he started preparing for civil services in 2009. He worked full-time from 9 am to 5 pm in a railway workshop and took exams. Preparation from 6 pm to 2 am In an interview, he told that a month before the UPSC Mains exam, he increased his daily study hours from 10 to 12 hours. He appeared for the Civil Services Examination three times. In his third attempt in 2011, he secured 282nd rank.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 10″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye colour: black
Family
parents and siblings
There is not much information about his parents and siblings.
wife and children
There is not much information about his marital status.
livelihood
On 24 December 2012, he completed his police training at LBSNAA, Hyderabad and became an IPS officer. He was allotted Manipur cadre. In 2017, he took over as Senior Superintendent of Police in Churachandpur. He has also worked in Thobal and Imphal areas. In 2019, he played a major role in the investigation of the Pulwama terror attack by leading the National Investigation Agency (NIA) team, where 40 CRPF jawans lost their lives. Initially, there were limited leads in the case, but when he took charge, Balwal proposed to examine the mobile phone seized from the suicide bomber, which yielded several photographs that contributed to solving the case. He also worked jointly with the US intelligence agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, to investigate the role of Jaish-e-Mohammed in the Pulwama attack. In August 2020, the NIA presented a 13,500-page charge sheet before a special court in Jammu and Kashmir under his leadership. In the chargesheet, Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar and 18 others were charged in connection with the attack. Rakesh was transferred to the post of SSP Srinagar on 16 December 2021 for a period of three years.
Rakesh Balwal appointed SSP Srinagar
He was included in the list of 27 police officers who were transferred by the Home Department.
Rakesh Balwal’s name in the list of officers transferred to Srinagar
When he joined, a lot of terrorist activities were taking place in the city. These included targeted attacks on minority members and police officers. His goal was to improve the law and order of the city. He expressed commitment to reduce the number of terrorists in the city. In an interview, a colleague of Balwal discussed his contributions to the city and said,
They were brought to Srinagar when the law and order situation in the district had deteriorated and targeted killings of non-local residents were taking place. They began working with teams to identify vulnerable populations and their work yielded positive results with no targeted killings [in Srinagar] Since he took charge in December 2021.”
During his tenure, militancy in Srinagar reduced significantly resulting in Muharram being celebrated on the streets after thirty years and the 2023 Independence Day celebrations being attended by many people. Additionally, various international events such as the G-20 Tourism Working Group meeting were held in the city. In an interview, Balwal talked about Muharram celebrations and said,
Allowing our Shia brothers to take out the procession was a collective decision of the administration and law enforcement agencies. We spent it calm and peaceful from beginning to end which is a great omen that things are changing for the better and the benefits of peace are now clearly visible.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notified his early transfer from AGMUT cadre to Manipur in September 2023 to deal with violence in the state. The decision to transfer him came three months after Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with all political parties to talk about the situation in Manipur in June.
Home Ministry announces sending Rakesh Balwal to Manipur
medal
- 2021: ‘Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation’ for solving the Pulwama case in 2019
- 2021: Army Chief Commendation
- 2021: A disc from the Director General of CRPF
Facts/General Knowledge
- In an interview, he revealed that he had written an essay about ‘Creation of small states and its resulting administrative, economic and developmental implications’ in UPSC Mains 2011 and had scored 113 marks out of 200 for that essay.
- In an interview he had told that he is the first and only IPS officer of his district.
- According to him, he was inspired to prepare for civil services by reading Shiv Kheda’s book ‘You Can Win: A Step-by-Step Tool for Top Achievers’.
- In an interview, he told that he was an average student during his school days and used to get 60 to 70 percent marks in college. She also said that she did not attend highly prestigious colleges and does not speak convent-accented English.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn