First women team inducted into CRPF's CoBRA commando unit
Gurgaon: A maiden contingent of 34 CRPF women personnel was on Saturday inducted into its specialised jungle warfare commando force CoBRA, which will soon be deployed in the anti-Naxal operations grid of the country.
The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) was raised under the CRPF in 2009 for undertaking intelligence-based jungle warfare operations. It has been an all-male affair for this unit till now.
The majority of CoBRA teams, whose commandos are expected to have tough mental and physical attributes, are deployed in various Maoist violence affected states while a few are based in the northeastern states for undertaking counter-insurgency operations.
A ceremonial event was held at the forces' camp in Kadarpur village here with CRPF Director General A P Maheshwari witnessing combat drills performed by the chosen women as he underlined that it was important to defeat gender-based beliefs and stereotypes.
The personnel, earmarked for CoBRA, have been chosen from the existing six all-women battalions of the force, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) spokesperson said.
"These women will undergo a pre-induction training for three months and subsequently will be embedded with CoBRA units deployed in Naxal violence affected districts of Chhattisgarh like Sukma, Dantewada and Bijapur," the spokesperson said.
An all-women brass band of the country's largest paramilitary was also commissioned during the ceremony that was held to mark the 35th Raising Day anniversary of its first women battalion.
The first battalion, numbered 88, was raised this day in 1986 at a CRPF base in Delhi and the force now has six such units with just over 1,000 personnel in each.
They are deployed for rendering various kinds of law and order duties across the country. The CRPF also has an all-women pipe band that was raised in 2012.
Maheshwari lauded the women, saying they are an inspiration for numerous young girls who aspire to do good for themselves and the country. He said these combatants have proved that power is not in the muscles but in the head.
"I consider it the failure of leadership if someone says that one cannot do a work that is being done by the other. It is our responsibility to ensure that every effort is made to bring all the personnel to the same level of efficiency.
"Women warriors can use their strengths in the operational areas where the force is working," Maheshwari said addressing the troops.
He urged the women personnel to "make their place" in the families of those youth who have gone astray or away from the national mainstream and help in bringing them back.
He said the new age warfare is asymmetric, proxy, radicalisation-based, cyber-centric and has "shifted" from the geographical to the human terrain.
"ISIS (the banned global terror group) didn't require to physically cross the border but capture the mind of a Bengaluru techie (to carry out nefarious designs)...every citizen is a soldier and every soldier is a citizen," the CRPF chief said.
He said women personnel can also play an important role in countering the activities of "sleeper cells" and other such elements.
The CRPF, with a strength of about 3.25 lakh personnel, is designated as the lead internal security combat unit with its maximum deployment in three major theatres of Jammu and Kashmir, Left Wing Extremism affected states and insurgency-hit areas on India's northeast.
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Cong alleges its Rithala candidate 'assaulted' by EC official
New Delhi, Jan 26 (PTI): The Congress alleged Saturday its Rithala candidate Sushant Mishra was assaulted by a poll official, and demanded a thorough probe into the incident and action against him.
Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed Sushant Mishra was assaulted by an Election Commission of India official on Saturday.
He alleged the official also attempted to prevent Mishra from undertaking a Padayatra for which the Delhi Police had already given permission.
In a post on X, Ramesh said, "@sushant_m has been actively taking up violations of the Model Code of Conduct by other candidates in the ongoing Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections. This unprecedented and illegal act of partisanship by an official of a Constitutional body like the ECI can only be seen as a desperate attempt by the AAP and BJP to stem the surge of support for his candidacy and that of the Congress Party in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections"
Ramesh said the Congress remains undaunted and will continue to raise the voice of people and protect the sanctity of elections.
"To preserve the integrity of the electoral process, the Indian National Congress demands a full inquiry into the incident and immediate corrective action against the concerned official," the Congress leader demanded.
Mishra has also separately written to the returning office and Chief Electoral officer and the Election Commission about the incident, demanding action against the accused.
.@INCIndia के रिठाला विधानसभा के उम्मीदवार सुशांत मिश्रा (@sushant_m) पर कल @ECISVEEP के एक अधिकारी ने हमला करके उन्हें घायल कर दिया। अधिकारी ने उन्हें पदयात्रा करने से रोकने का भी प्रयास किया, जिसके लिए दिल्ली पुलिस ने पहले ही अनुमति दे दी थी।
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) January 26, 2025
सुशांत मिश्रा दिल्ली विधानसभा… pic.twitter.com/sQ7I6EIvvY
