A contingent of around 500 women CRPF personnel has been sent to Kashmir to counter the protesters, especially women.
The women personnel will be positioned at Central Reserve Police Force recruit training center in the summer capital of J&K, Srinagar. They will be trained in counter-riot and anti-rebel operations. This will become the maiden team of women personnel to be deployed in the Kashmir valley.
The decision to induct women CRPF personnel was taken after it wasn’t found feasible to bring RAF, the special anti-riot wing of the paramilitary force. The women personnel will start their duties after a 45-day induction training and combat-stress inoculation.
The women personnel are currently familiarizing with the topography of the valley in Srinagar. According to their training officer Manju K, they are being trained to handle ammunition and weapons such as rubber bullets, pellet guns, pump-action guns and tear gas shells and PAVA shells, a chilli-based munition.
The women personnel will also be armed with more lethal weapons, such as AK-series rifles and the INSAS to defend themselves or hit back during an attack from the rebels. “All the necessary body protectors and bullet-proof amour are also being procured for the special women squad inducted for operations in the valley for the first time,” said Manju K.
The women CRPF personnel have been inducted into these combat force as they are as good as their male counterparts, believes the officer. For a hassle free operation, mobile toilets and troop carriers have been brought in for the convenience of female troopers.
CRPF is the largest paramilitary force of India, with around 3 lakh personnel. Already, 60 battalions have been deployed in J&K to counter the protests and anti-rebel operations.
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