Anti-Naxal ops: CRPF to deploy women commandos in LWE states

Breaking yet another proverbial glass ceiling, country's largest paramilitary force CRPF will soon deploy about 300 women commandos for undertaking anti- Naxal operations in select Left-wing Extremism-affected states.
Recently, border-guarding force Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) had declared that it will post its women personnel in full combat role at its units along the Sino-Indian border.
Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Prakash Mishra said few chosen companies drawn from its four 'mahila' battalions will be soon sent for pre-induction training and after about six weeks of regimen in various types of combats and special tasks, the women contingents will be sent for final deployment.

"We are going to give more operational duties to our women personnel. We are sending our women personnel to some of the most difficult areas," Mishra said while announcing the hosting of the 7th National Conference of Women in Police beginning tomorrow.
The two-day conference, organised by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), will be inaugurated by Home Minister Rajnath Singh at a CRPF camp in Gurgaon near here.
Officials said the women squad, comprising about three companies (300 personnel) will be based in areas of West Bengal and Jharkhand where the anti-Naxal offensive is not as tricky and challenging as may be in Chhattisgarh and Bihar.

"The opportunity for the women personnel is challenging as the LWE operations are one of the most challenging duties in the country's internal security domain," an official said.

The force had initiated a plan in this regard last year when two small teams of these women personnel were sent for familiarisation exercises and based in CRPF camps in the worst-affected Bastar region of Chhattisgarh and some sensitive LWE areas of Jharkhand.
Officials said the women personnel, once deployed, will be operating from active CRPF bases and will carry arms and undertake patrols like their male counterparts.
The nearly three lakh-personnel-strong CRPF is the lead anti-Naxal operations force of the country.

Officials said there are specific reasons and operational benefits for deploying women combatants in LWE areas.
While they can interact with the local women folk which not only helps in gathering good intelligence, it also helps in bringing forces closer to the locals and villagers.