RAF battalion to be deployed in state

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 20

A newly raised battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) Rapid Action Force (RAF) will be based in Haryana, which has witnessed widespread violence and law and order problems over the past two years.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju stated in Parliament today that the government had approved the raising of five additional RAF battalions, out of which one would be based in Haryana with the other four in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka.

“The RAF already has 10 battalions which at present are located in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Delhi,” he said.

Raised in Delhi in December 1991, the RAF became fully operational with five battalions in October 1992. It specialises in dealing with riots, crowd control, rescue and relief operations and public unrest. Another five battalions were added in 1994 and last year, the government approved the raising of five more battalions. The RAF personnel are distinguished from other CRPF personnel from the blue coloured disruptive pattern uniform.