CRPF Launches New CoBRA Battalion to Fight Terror in Jammu & Kashmir

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has decided to create a special CoBRA battalion to fight terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. This decision comes 17 years after the CoBRA unit was first formed to deal with Naxal problems in certain Indian states.

During the 86th Raising Day event of the CRPF in a historic town in Madhya Pradesh, the Director General of CRPF, Gyanendra Pratap Singh, made this announcement. The event was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was the chief guest.

The new CoBRA unit will help improve the CRPF’s operations in Jammu and Kashmir. It will specifically work in forest areas where terrorist attacks have happened recently. Earlier this year, some CoBRA companies were trained in the Kashmir valley but were not sent into action. For now, regular CRPF teams and a special squad called the Kashmir Valley Quick Action Team (QAT) are working to fight terrorism there.

The CoBRA unit was started in 2008-09 to handle problems related to Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in various Indian states. By 2011, there were 10 CoBRA battalions, and now this will be the 11th unit, focusing on Jammu and Kashmir. The commandos in this unit are highly trained in jungle warfare and guerrilla tactics. They use modern weapons and technology, and the unit is always updated with younger members to keep it effective.

Currently, most CoBRA units are operating where Maoist activities are strong, especially in Chhattisgarh, as the government aims to eliminate this threat by March next year.

The special jungle warfare unit was created by IPS officer K Durga Prasad, who had experience with a similar unit called the ‘Greyhounds’ in Andhra Pradesh. The first CRPF battalion was raised in 1939 during British rule and renamed as the Central Reserve Police Force in 1949 by India’s first Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.