On the occasion of 88th Mahila Battalion raising day, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) inducted women commandos in its special wing for anti-naxal operations, news agency ANI reported.
Thirty-four women personnel from six Mahila battalions are set to undergo Ten Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) pre-induction training for three months. CoBRA is the CRPF’s specialised jungle warfare commando force, requiring the personnel to reach strict mental and physical parameters.
“If we discriminate on the basis of gender, then it shows our poor leadership qualities,” force chief AP Maheshwari told ANI on Saturday.
After completion of their training, the batch of women commandos will be posted in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) areas along with their male counterparts.
On 21 January, chief Maheshwari had told PTI that "We are favourably considering inducting women in the CoBRA."
Currently, the majority of CoBRA teams are deployed in various states affected by Naxal violence, while a few are deployed in the northeastern states under counter-insurgency operations, PTI reported.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
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