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Central Reserve Police Force
The Central Reserve Police Force of India is the largest Central Armed Police Force of the country. Generally it is known by its abbreviation CRPF and it under the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. It is basically a well-trained unit that can assist the state police forces during difficult circumstances in maintaining law and order. However, the CRPF can trace its origin is to the British days when it was formed as a central police force and was called the Crown Representative's Police. It was originally formed in 1939 but after India’s independence in 1947 it was renamed as the Central Reserve Police Force and was formally institutionalized through the CRPF Act of 1949. Apart from the law and order issues as well as counter-insurgency operations, the CRPF is also employed during major events such as the elections which are always very sensitive in this diverse and populous nation. Especially it becomes absolutely necessary in the troubled states such as the North East states, Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar etc. where violence and riots during elections are common and where the state police forces are inadequately trained and armed to meet these challenges.
The Crown Representative's Police started in 1939 with only 2 battalions and was mainly used to protect the British civilians in India during those times of political turmoil. After independence, several reserve police battalions from different states are merged with CRPF to strengthen it as one central police force. Over the years CRPF has not only helped in domestic issues but has played its part during foreign invasions too. For example in 1959 a team of CRPF was attacked by the Chinese Army in Ladakh with several casualties. That particular day is now marked as Police day by the organization. Similarly, during the Indo-Pak war of 1965 a CRPF battalion fought and won against brigade of Pakistan army which was much bigger in numbers. In fact till 1965 it used to man the sensitive international borders of India. Later on the Border Security force was created to lessen its burden. However, the CRPF always finds it in the thick of action. For instance it was present during the daring terrorist raid on the Parliament in 2001 where it managed to eliminate all the intruders.
Organization of the Central Reserve Police Force
The top brass of CRPF is drawn from the elite Indian Police Service cadres. It is led by DG and the force is divided into ten administrative sectors under Inspector General. Every Sector is further divided into various Operational Ranges, led by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police. As of now there are more than 200 battalions of CRPF station across the country. Each battalion consists of around 1200 constables and is available to indulge in immediate action whenever required.
Special Units of CRPF
There are a couple of special units that have been created for special purpose in the recent decades considering the emerging threats. They are formed by selecting the best from the CRPF battalions. The Rapid Action Force (RAF) is a one such unit of the CRPF that specializes in handling communal riots and other matters of civil unrest. The Parliament Duty Group is another elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force that is dedicated to the protection of the Parliament House and is trained to handle modern day threats such as bio-chemical attacks and is well versed in rescue operations.