‘The entire armoury has changed’: Inside the CRPF’s first year without an operational death in 47 years

The Central Reserve Police Force went 12 consecutive months without an operational death for the first time in 47 years. Speaking to WION’s Defence Pulse, former CRPF Director General Dilip Trivedi explained how the force adapted to the Maoist insurgency, from raising specialist jungle warfare units to upgrading the equipment its personnel carried.
India’s largest central armed police force comes under the Union Home Ministry. State police call on it for reinforcements during serious unrest, elections and counter-insurgency operations. Its personnel secure polling stations, protect VIPs and help guard sensitive sites and routes, including the Amarnath Yatra. They also take on terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgents in the Northeast and Maoists in forested areas.
The zero-death milestone becomes all the more commendable as it has been achieved while the force continued to take on operations where personnel face ambushes and buried explosives.
“12 consecutive months (one year) have passed without any operational fatality in the force,” CRPF Director General G.P. Singh wrote on X. He credited better equipment, training and planning, along with faster evacuation of injured personnel.

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Why the CRPF raised CoBRA

Trivedi said the CRPF had to adapt quickly when militancy surged in Jammu and Kashmir in 1989. The Maoist insurgency posed a different challenge. The force raised CoBRA, short for Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, to specialise in jungle warfare and stationed its battalions in Maoist-affected areas.
That permanent presence helped personnel build relationships with local communities, Trivedi said. Language barriers sometimes made intercepted radio conversations hard to understand. “So the human intelligence becomes very important,” he said.
The CRPF selected younger personnel for the specialist units. “They could move faster. They had more agility, and they were given better equipment,” Trivedi said. The units also used Belgian Malinois tracking dogs.

From internal security to wartime support

Trivedi recalled the CRPF defending Sardar Post in Gujarat during the 1965 war and supporting the Army during Operation Parakram. “A lot of CRPF battalions were drafted by the Army,” he said of the mobilisation.
He also recalled the older rifles the force carried in the 1980s. “Today all those weapons are obsolete,” he said. “We’ve got AK-47s.” He cited Israeli machine guns used for VIP protection and mentioned mortars and rocket launchers when discussing the force’s wartime role.

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Asked on Defence Pulse about reports that the CRPF was seeking loitering munitions, Trivedi said the force would continue to look for newer equipment. “The entire armoury has changed over the years and it will keep evolving,”
Trivedi said fewer Maoist attacks helped the CRPF reach the milestone. He also pointed to changes that helped personnel survive when they were injured, including lighter protective vests, doctors serving with units and faster evacuation by helicopter.