NEW DELHI  - India has dismissed Amreet Ahluwalia, Beijing station chief of external intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) for professional misconduct, including possible compromise of operational secrets.
Sources said there may not have been any espionage angle to the dismissal of Ahluwalia.
The Joint Secretary rank officer was dismissed under Article 311 of the Constitution which empowers the President to outright dismiss a government servant “in the interest of the security of the State”.
Sources said the decision was approved by the Prime Minister, and formally signed into order by former President Pratibha Patil.
A senior official in the security establishment said Ahluwalia was dismissed for “professional misconduct” that may have compromised “operational secrets”. But he said that Ahluwalia’s act may not have involved any foreigners.
One report indicated that he may have threatened to take his professional disagreements to the political leadership. During his posting in the US earlier, he had a similar incident with the agency leadership after he established direct contacts with the top brass of the security establishment. He was reprimanded in that case.
Ahluwalia, a member of RAW, had been a high-profile member of the intelligence agency with foreign postings including in the US as well as sensitive domestic postings in headquarters and Held Kashmir.