Seventeen years after its inception as a jungle warfare unit focused on Naxal-affected regions, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is set to establish a specialized CoBRA battalion for counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
CRPF Director General (DG) Gyanendra Pratap Singh made this announcement during the force’s 86th Raising Day event in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, the historic birthplace of this approximately 3.25 lakh-strong paramilitary force.
The DG stated that the raising of this new Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) for Jammu and Kashmir was directed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was the chief guest at the event.
According to the CRPF chief, this advanced unit will bolster the force’s operational effectiveness in the Union Territory. A senior officer clarified that the CoBRA unit will be tasked with operations in the forested areas of Jammu and Kashmir, including the Jammu region, which has recently experienced a rise in terrorist incidents.
While some CoBRA companies underwent training in the Kashmir valley in 2023, they were not deployed for active operations. Currently, regular CRPF units and their specialized ‘Kashmir valley quick action team (QAT)’ handle counter-terrorist operations in the region.
CoBRA was established in 2008-09, a period marked by the peak of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) across several Indian states and ongoing insurgencies in parts of the Northeast. By 2011, ten CoBRA battalions had been formed, and this number continues to grow. The upcoming J&K unit will be the 11th CoBRA battalion.
Commandos selected for this unit undergo specialized training in intelligence-based jungle warfare and guerilla tactics. The unit is equipped with modern assault weapons, communication and surveillance technology, and maintains a dynamic profile through the induction of young troops and commanders—a persistent challenge for the CRPF due to a lower intake of younger officers.
Currently, the majority of CoBRA units are deployed in LWE-affected areas, primarily in Chhattisgarh, aligning with the Union government’s objective to eradicate Maoist influence by March of the following year.
The special jungle warfare unit was conceived under the leadership of IPS officer K Durga Prasad, who was then a CRPF Inspector General. Prasad, a 1981-batch Telangana cadre officer, drew upon his experience with the ‘Greyhounds’ police commando unit of undivided Andhra Pradesh, a force specifically created to counter Naxalites in that state. Prasad later served as the director of the Special Protection Group (SPG) and retired as the CRPF DG in 2017.
Official records indicate that the CRPF’s first battalion was raised in Neemuch on July 27, 1939, as the Crown Representative’s Police (CRP) during British rule. Following India’s independence, it was renamed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in 1949 under the leadership of the first home minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
