Naxals to Terrorists: In a First, CRPF's CoBRA Commandos to Now Operate in Kashmir | Exclusive

In a first, a team of young lot of elite anti-naxal unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will now operate against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. The team travelled almost 2,000 kilometres as their battleground has changed from Red Zone to Srinagar.

The 205 CoBRA, who have already experience in jungle warfare and received training in urban warfare, are now waiting for some action. The team was in Bihar, where the presence of Naxals is shrinking, therefore, the bunch of commandos were shifted to Kashmir.

The elite CoBRA has been getting trained under various units operating in Jammu and Kashmir.

“Three teams will be operating and leading also soon in Srinagar along with Valley Quick Action Team. These teams reached Kashmir in May and got all the relevant and required training. Since they are already trained in jungle warfare, this would be an added advantage as no force has such experience operating in Kashmir. We have seen a shift also in terrorists’ activities and modus operandi, therefore, this bunch of commandos will be operating in all parts,” a senior CRPF official deployed in Kashmir told News18 on the condition of anonymity.

Another officer aware of the development said the CoBRA team will be moving out with CRPF’s elite anti-terrorist unit Valley QAT, which has given decorated commandos who have been involved in some of the major operations in the region. An order was issued on Monday from the competent authority to send CoBRA commandos with Valley QAT in case of any operation.

According to sources, questions were raised over the age of CRPF jawans operating in J&K during discussions on the drawdown plan of Rashtriya Rifles, which has not been rejected so far or put on hold. Though the CRPF officials say the move is not related to the plan. They had said since Naxalism is shrinking, CoBRA commandos can be shifted to Kashmir.

CoBRA is an integral part of CRPF, therefore, the personnel are selected from there. In all, there are 10 CoBRA units, which were raised between 2008 and 2011. They are usually deployed in all Left-Wing Extremist-affected areas of Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya.