Over 23,000 personnel quit paramilitary forces in just over a decade, BSF topped list

New Delhi: Over 23,000 personnel have quit paramilitary forces in the past 11 years with the BSF topping the list with close to 7,500 such instances, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has said.

In statistics tabled in Lok Sabha earlier this month in questions posed by Trinamool Congress MP Yusuf Pathan, a former cricketer, it has also said that around 440 suicides and seven cases fratricides were also reported since 2023.

According to the MHA, not a single resignation has been reported from National Security Guards (NSG) since 2014 while CRPF has come second in the list with 7,456 resignations after BSF, which recorded 7,493 resignations.

The total number of resignations in seven paramilitary forces was 23,360. The CISF reported 4,137 resignations between 2014 and 2025 while it was 1,967 for ITBP, 1,936 for SSB and 371 for Assam Rifles.

While 2024 topped the list of resignations, this year has reported 3,077 resignations so far. The least was in 2020 when 959 resignations were reported.

The statistics showed that the resignations stood below the 2000-mark between 2016 and 2022 while it crossed it in 2023 when it was 2,471. In 2014, it was 2,033 and in the next year, it rose to 2,070 but fell to 1,363 in 2016.

On the 438 suicide cases reported from the paramilitary forces between 2023 and 2025, the highest 157 was in 2023 followed by 148 and 133 in the next two years. CRPF has the highest number of 159 cases of suicides in the last three years followed by BSF at 120 and CISF 60.

Seven cases of fratricides were also recorded in the last three years with four of them reported this year. CRPF and Assam Rifles have two such cases each while SSB, ITBP and BSF reported one each.

Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the working hours in paramilitary forces is generally eight hours but it varies depending on the operational exigencies. “There is a necessary leave/training reserve built in the structure of the battalion so that the personnel get leave and rest,” he said.

Measures have been taken to implement a transparent, rational and fair leave policy and for regulating duty hours to ensure adequate rest and leave, he said.

The government has made a provision for 75 days leave, which includes 60 days earned leave and 15 days casual leave for personnel deployed in the field while for other government servants, there is a provision of 30 days earned leave and eight days casual leave.

“Mental health support, wherever is required, is being provided to the paramilitary personnel through a network of paramilitary hospitals, composite hospitals, unit hospitals and a specialised psychiatric services.” he said.