The CRPF has drafted a new Standard Operating Procedure for convoy movement in Jammu and Kashmir wherein the paramilitary motorcade will now be commandeered by an SP-rank officer. The new SOP has also laid down that a convoy will not have more than 40 vehicles during such movement. The move comes in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 paramilitary personnel in a suicide bombing by the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad.

The SOP, officials said, also provides for strict ‘passenger manifest discipline’ and an Inspector or Sub-Inspector rank official will be responsible to maintain during such transit.

An officer of second-in-command rank (equivalent to SP rank) of the force will lead the convoy instead of the current practice of a junior Assistant Commandant-rank (Assistant SP) officer heading the convoys.

A senior official will be having more experience to manoeuvre the convoys which face continuous threat from the terror groups.

The SP rank convoy commander will directly report and co-ordinate with one of the three CRPF Deputy Inspector General (operations) based in Kashmir.

Earlier, the convoy commander under the charge of an Assistant Commandant used to report through the Commandant to their higher-ups.

The convoy commander leads the entourage in a vehicle fitted with communication equipment and has armed commandos for quick reaction in case of any untoward eventuality.

While the upper limit of the convoy strength has been fixed at 40 vehicles, the Force is also looking at ways to minimize the number of vehicles to 10-20 for a more secured travel as well as effective management and control, officials said.

In the Pulwama incident which was the worst in the last three decades of insurgency in the Valley, over 2,500 CRPF men were travelling at one go in the terror-sensitive Kashmir Valley, a pointer to the lackadaisical approach of the top paramilitary leadership based in the national capital as well as in Jammu and Kashmir.

CRPF insiders said had the paramilitary leadership shown dynamism in formulating effective strategies for convoy movement before the Pulwama incident, the terror hit could have been avoided.

With a strength of 65 battalions (65,000 personnel), the CRPF is lead force for internal security duties and anti-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Stung by the Pulwama incident, the CRPF is also in the process to procure a new fleet of mine protected vehicles (MPVs) and bullet-resistant 30-seater buses for secure movement of personnel.