First Women Team Inducted in CRPF’s CoBRA Commando Unit

A maiden contingent of 34 CRPF women personnel has been inducted into its specialized jungle warfare commando force CoBRA. The contingent will soon be deployed in the anti-Naxal operations grid of the country.

Key Points

• The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) was raised under the CRPF in the year 2009 for undertaking intelligence-based jungle warfare operations.
• Till now, the force was an all-male unit and it is for the first time that a contingent of women personnel has been inducted into it.
• The commandos of the CoBRA teams are expected to be mentally and physically tough and most of the teams are deployed in Maoist violence-affected states of the country.
• Some of the CoBRA teams are also deployed in the northeastern states for undertaking counter-insurgency operations.
• A ceremony was held to mark the induction of women contingent in Kadarpur village wherein the chosen women personnel performed combat drills.
• The members of the 34 CRPF women personnel contingent have been chosen from the 6 all-women battalions of CRPF.
• This women’s contingent will undergo pre-induction training for 3 months and then deployed with the units in Naxal violence-affected districts of Chhattisgarh like Dantewada, Sukma, and Bijapur.

First Women Battalion of CRPF

The first battalion of CRPF numbered 88, was raised this day in 1986 at a CRPF base in Delhi. An all-women brass band of CRPF was also commissioned during the ceremony that was held to mark the 35th Raising Day anniversary of the first women’s battalion of CRPF.

CRPF also raised an all-women pipe band in the year 2012.