CRPF to replace Army troops across 21 locations in Jammu region
New Delhi/Jammu, Sep 8 (PTI) Security agencies have drawn up a comprehensive plan to replace Army troops with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for counter-terrorist operations across select locations in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Tuesday.
Under the proposal, about 21 locations in Udhampur and Kathua districts in Jammu region have been identified for the deployment of the paramilitary force alongside specialised units of its jungle warfare wing, the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA).
Officials in the security establishment said that these camps had been reduced to a skeletal presence following earlier troop movements and with the CRPF now taking over these operating bases, better operational coordination between the Army and paramilitary forces will be ensured across the terrain.
In 2020, it was decided that CRPF will fill the vacuum created due to the troop movement to the Line of Actual Control.
It has been decided to deploy approximately 21 CRPF companies, comprising around 2,100 personnel, to man 21 camps across the two districts in the Jammu region, officials said.
These CRPF companies, supported by CoBRA teams, will conduct targeted counter-terrorist operations in the forested areas and rugged tracks of Jammu that have witnessed terrorist movements and the creation of hideouts in recent years.
The security establishment envisages gradually handing over the complete counter-insurgency grid in the Jammu sector to the CRPF. This will allow Army infantry units to be completely withdrawn from routine anti-terror duties and redeployed to bolster border security contingents along the Line of Control and the International Border.
Having successfully led anti-Naxal operations in central India, select CRPF units are currently being de-inducted from the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) theatre to be repositioned in Jammu and Kashmir, officials added.
