MAY INDUCT WOMEN OFFICERS IN SPECIALISED ANTI-MAOIST FORCE: CRPF DG

2,452

4,955

15,668

5,690

70

0

0

21,249

10,410

9,277

0

743

10,123

0

677

2,087

13

205

343

6,080

26,263

23,075

437

38

44,880

3,091

1,945

8,182

388

15,829

NEW DELHI:

0

9

1,029

5,538

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is considering inducting women officers in its specialised jungle warfare commando force to fight Maoists, Dr AP Maheshwari, the director general of the world’s largest paramilitary force, said on Thursday.

“We are favourably considering inducting women in COBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action),” Maheshwari said, addressing mediapersons at a press conference.

At present, COBRA has around 12,000 personnel, who are mainly deployed in states affected by Left-wing extremism. The elite commando unit was raised in 2009.

Maheshwari also said that keeping in mind the increasing responsibility of its VIP security wing, the force is enhancing its skills to match up to the Special Protection Group (SPG), which protects the Prime Minister and is a separate agency.

“We have improved our VIP security skills. We are following the best security standards... we are working to match our skills with the best standards of the SPG,” he said.

The CRPF provides security to 62 VIPS, including home minister Amit Shah, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, among others.

Maheshwari also said that IED attacks are currently a major threat for the force. “There are tools to detect IEDS (improvised explosive devices), but none of them is perfect. This is a field in which internationally all organisations are trying,” he said.

COBRA HAS AROUND 12,000 PERSONNEL, WHO ARE MAINLY DEPLOYED IN LWE AFFECTED STATES