Samaan Lateef

Srinagar, December 30

To strengthen its security grid, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will deploy its women personnel for counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir.

The Inspector General (Srinagar sector) of the CRPF, Charu Sinha, said after successful experiments of deploying women in non-militancy operations, the CRPF would deploy them in counter-insurgency operations, considering the “sensitivities” of Kashmiri women.

In a telephonic conversation with The Tribune, Sinha said the CRPF wanted to make Kashmiri women comfortable during the counter-insurgency and cordon and search operations. “We believe that this is the best way to deal with local women during counter-insurgency operations,” she said.

The women personnel will be given training for at least six weeks in counter-insurgency and search operations before being sent to the field. “They will operate on a par with their male counterparts,” the IG added.