From anti-Naxal ops to crowd control: CoBRA units retrained for Manipur mission

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has provided specialised law-and-order and crowd-control training to personnel of its two Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA) recently deployed in violence-hit Manipur, marking a significant shift in the elite force's operational role.

Officials said the specially trained jungle warfare commandos underwent a month-long pre-induction programme to prepare them for crowd management, law-and-order duties and the complex security challenges arising from the ongoing ethnic conflict in the state.

The two CoBRA battalions were deployed in Manipur in May after being redeployed from anti-Maoist operations. Their deployment follows the Centre's declaration in March that India had become Naxal-free, allowing the elite units to be reassigned to other security challenges.

CRPF has directed the CoBRA personnel to strictly adhere to standard operating procedures (SOPs), avoid any unplanned movement, and operate in close coordination with the Manipur Police and the Indian Army.

To strengthen security operations, the force has also deployed around 100 armoured vehicles for patrolling, rapid response and troop movement. Officials said the vehicles will improve operational mobility and enhance protection for personnel deployed in vulnerable areas.

The CoBRA units, along with regular CRPF personnel, have been tasked with maintaining peace, dismantling insurgent bunkers and preventing armed miscreants from regrouping. In June, CRPF-led forces demolished 30 active insurgent bunkers during an area domination operation in Leimakhong in Kangpokpi district.

Manipur has remained affected by ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities since May 2023. The conflict has claimed more than 260 lives and displaced thousands, prompting a large-scale deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).

At present, around 320 companies of CAPFs are stationed in the state, with nearly 200 companies belonging to the CRPF.

Raised in 2008-09 to combat Left Wing Extremism, the CoBRA battalions earned a reputation for conducting intelligence-based jungle warfare operations against Maoist insurgents. With Maoist violence now largely neutralised, the elite commandos have been assigned a new role in stabilising one of the country's most sensitive conflict zones.

Meanwhile, security officials said the CRPF has begun withdrawing around 60 companies from West Bengal following the completion of Assembly election duties, although approximately 40 companies will continue to remain deployed in the state.