The Central Reserve Police Force (Devanāgarī: केंद्रीय रिज़र्व पुलिस बल) also known as CRPF is the largest of India's Central Armed Police Forces. It functions under the aegis of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. The CRPF's primary role lies in assisting the State/Union Territories in police operations to maintain law and order and contain insurgency. It came into existence as the Crown Representative's Police on 27 July 1939. After Indian Independence, it became the Central Reserve Police Force on enactment of the CRPF Act on 28 December 1949.

Besides Law and Order and counter-insurgency duties, the role of CRPF in the General Elections, held repeatedly during the past few years, has been very significant and vital. This is especially true for the trouble-ridden states of J&K, Bihar and in the North East. During the Parliamentary elections of September 1999, the CRPF played a major role in the security arrangements. Of late, CRPF contingents are also being deployed in UN missions.

With 220 battalions^[1] and various other establishments, the CRPF is considered the largest paramilitary force in the world.^[2] Nonetheless, the CRPF does not fall under the Indian government's new definition of "Paramilitary Forces".

History[link]

• The CRPF was derived from the CRP (Crown Representative's Police) on 27 July 1939 with 2 Battalions in Nimach, Madhya Pradesh. Its primary duty at the time was to protect the British residents in sensitive states of India.
• In 1949, the CRP was renamed under the CRPF Act. During the 1960s, many state reserve police battalions were merged with the CRPF. The CRPF has been active against foreign invasion and domestic insurgency.
• On 21 October 1959, Dy.S.P. Karam Singh and 20 soldiers were attacked by the Chinese army at Hot Springs in Ladakh resulting in 10 casualties. The survivors were imprisoned. Since then, 21 October is observed as Police Commemoration day.
• During the 1965 India-Pakistan War, two companies consisting of 150 men of the 2nd Battalion of the CRPF defeated an infantry brigade consisting of 1600 men of the Pakistan Army at Kanjar Kot in Gujarat^{[citation needed]}.
• The CRPF guarded the India-Pakistan Border until 1965, at which point the Border Security Force was created for that purpose.
• On 2001 Indian Parliament attack the CRPF troopers killed all five terrorists who had entered the premises of the Indian Parliament in New Delhi.
• In recent years, the Government of India has decided to follow up on recommendations of the Indian cabinet to use each security agency for its mandated purpose. As a result, the counter-insurgency operations in India have been entrusted to the CRPF.
• In 2008 a wing called COmbat Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA) was added to the CRPF to counter the Naxalite movement.
• On September 2, 2009, 5000 CRPF soldiers were deployed for a Search and Rescue mission to find the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy whose helicopter went missing over the Nallamalla Forest Range in Andhra Pradesh. This was the largest search operation ever mounted in India.
• On May 30, 2012, 7 CRPF jawans were injured when motor-cycle borne militants opened indiscriminate firing on them in Khanyar,Srinagar.^[3]

Current role and strength[link]

As of 2010, the CRPF is the largest paramilitary organisation of the country and is actively looking after the internal security of every part of India and are even operating abroad as part of United Nations peacekeeping missions. It is performing a variety of duties ranging from VIP security to election duties, from guarding of vital installations to the counter-naxal operations.

Organization[link]

The CRPF is headed by a Director general who is an Indian Police Service officer and is divided into ten administrative sectors, each headed by an Inspector General. Each Sector consists of one or more administrative and/or Operational Ranges, headed by an officer of the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police. Now, Group Centres are also headed by DIGs.

There are 210 CRPF battalions of approximately 1200 constables each. Each battalion is commanded by an officer designated as Commandant, and consists of seven CRPF companies, each containing 135 Men . Each company is headed by an Assistant Commandant.

The Home Ministry is planning to increase the strength of the force by adding 35 more battalions(30,000 personnel approx.) in the coming years.

Ranks and insignia[link]

Rank structure[link]

♯ With 3 years seniority

^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]}

Being a central Indian police organization and having high presence of Indian Police Service officers, CRPF follows ranks and insgnia similar to other police organizations in India.

The Rapid Action Force[link]

The Rapid Action Force (RAF) is a specialised 10 battalion wing of the Indian Central Reserve Police Force. It was formed in October 1992, to deal with communal riots and related civil unrest. The battalions are numbered from 99 to 108.

Weapons[link]

CRPF uses basic Infantry weapons such as:

1. FN 35 and Glock 17 9 mm pistols
2. Heckler & Koch MP5 replacing the Carbine 1A 9 mm sub-machine guns
3. INSAS 5.56 mm assault rifles
4. INSAS 5.56 mm light machine guns replacing the Bren L4 machine guns
5. AGS-17 Plamya 30 mm automatic grenade launcher
6. AK 47 and AKM
7. Tavor TAR-21
8. X-95 5.56 MM Assault Rifle. Indian copy of the Tavor TAR-21 procured from Israel.

In addition to these, CRPF also uses land mine detectors.

Women in the CRPF[link]

The CRPF has three battalions staffed entirely by women. The first battalion No 88 was raised in 1986 with its headquarters at New Delhi. The second battalion 135 came into existence in 1996 at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. THE 3RD BN NO. IS 213 located at ajmer (Rajasthan)

The Green Force[link]

Another specialised outfit of the CRPF is the Green Force. The force has been able to effectively check environmental degradation and sustain the regeneration of local flora and fauna. Every year Green Force personnel plant hundreds of thousands of trees in various parts of the country.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Central Reserve Police Force

• global security article
• Official Website Upgraded

References[link]

v t e Law enforcement in India Cross civil service: Indian Police Service Federal police Border Security Force (BSF) Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CBRA) Home Guard Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) National Security Guard (NSG) Railway Protection Force (RPF) Rapid Action Force (RAF) Special Protection Group (SPG) Federal Intelligence Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Intelligence Bureau (IB) Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) National Investigation Agency (NIA) State Andhra Pradesh Police Arunachal Pradesh Police Assam Police Bihar Police Chandigarh Police Chhattisgarh Police Dadra and Nagar Haveli Police Daman and Diu Police Goa Police Gujarat Police Haryana Police Himachal Pradesh Police Jammu and Kashmir Police Jharkhand Police Karnataka Police Kerala Police Lakshadweep Police Madhya Pradesh Police Maharashtra Police Manipur Police Meghalaya Police Mizoram Police Nagaland Police Orissa Police Puducherry Police Punjab Police Rajasthan Police Sikkim Police Tamil Nadu Police Tripura Police Uttar Pradesh Police Uttarakhand Police West Bengal Police State Metropolitan Bangalore City Police Bhubaneswar–Cuttack Police Commissionerate Delhi Police Greater Chennai Police Hyderabad City Police Kolkata Police Kochi City Police Mumbai Police Nagpur Police Pune Police Thrissur City Police Thiruvananthapuram City Police