In a first, CRPF to hold annual Raising Day event in Chhattisgarh’s Naxal-hit Bastar

New Delhi, Feb 22 (PTI) The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is likely to hold its 84th Raising Day event in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, the first time that its annual celebrations will be held in a Left Wing Extremism-affected area, according to officials.

The country’s largest Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), with about 3.25 lakh personnel, is designated as the lead national internal security force operating in three main domains of Left Wing Extremism, counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast and counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

It had organised its 83rd anniversary event last year in Jammu after the government asked all paramilitary or CAPF to hold these events outside the national capital.

Officials said the 84th ‘CRPF Day’ will be held at Jagdalpur, the district headquarter of Bastar, on March 19.

The Bastar district is located in the southern-most region of Chhattisgarh and is flanked by districts like Sukma, Dantewada and Bijapur which have seen major Maoist attacks and counter-offensive operations by security forces, led by the CRPF.

The event will send a message that the forces are dominating all areas in the LWE-affected states and it will be held amid the much-talked-about Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC) by armed Maoist cadres, they said.

The TCOC is undertaken in March-June by the Naxals to strengthen their cadres and launch major attacks on security forces as forests are devoid of green cover, thereby increasing visibility.

Officials told PTI that these districts in south Chhattisgarh remain the “last bastion” of Maoist dominance and the CRPF has created around 15 forward operating bases (FOBs) or remote operational camps in the state over the last three years.

The force was raised in 1939 and the annual day of March 19 holds significance for the force as India’s first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel presented the Presidential colours to it in 1950.