Central govt pushes for CAPFs’ women officers in key positions
‘More lady officers to be picked in theatre command’
With an aim to give more representation to women officers in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), the Union home ministry has been pushing many senior women police officers to handle key positions in the Central forces.
Recently, Maharashtra cadre IPS Rashmi Shukla has been made the director general of the border guarding force Sashastra Seema Bal, guarding IndoNepal and Indo-Bhutan border. However, representation in other forces is still abysmal.
With the appointment of 1988-batch IPS officer Rashmi Shukla as the SSB director general, the force already has one lady officer, IPS B. Radhika, working as the additional director general from 2020.
Prior to her appointment as DG SSB, Ms Shukla was the additional DG in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
This is not the first time that SSB is being headed by a woman officer. IPS Archana Ramasundaram was the first lady IPS officer to head SSB between February 2016 and July 2018.
The senior officials in the security establishment said that the government aims to give more command roles to the women officers in the Central security forces and more and more lady officers will be appointed in the theatre command soon which were earlier considered as male bastions.
Recently, the government has appointed two inspector general rank women officers to head CRPF’s sector unit and the Rapid Action Force. While the Bihar sector of the CRPF is being headed by IG Seema Dhundia, IG Annie Abraham has been posted as the head of the Rapid Action Force (RAF).
Similarly, in the BSF, IPS officer Sonali Mishra is heading the eastern command as additional DG while IPS Nina Singh is also working as an ADG in the CISF. However, the Himalayan border guarding force ITBP and National Security Guard have no women officers on the higher echelon.