Sanjukta Parashar Becomes First Woman to Head CRPF's CoBRA Unit
Sanjukta Parashar becomes first woman to head CRPF's CoBRA unit.
Sanjukta Parashar, a 47-year-old 2006-batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre Indian Police Service officer, has become the first woman to head the Central Reserve Police Force’s specialised counter-insurgency and asymmetrical warfare unit, the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, widely known as CoBRA. Her appointment marks a significant development in the leadership of one of the CRPF’s most specialised operational formations.
Parashar took charge of CoBRA after being appointed as its inspector general. She replaced 1996-batch Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories cadre IPS officer Danish Rana. She has been on deputation with the CRPF since August and was formally named to the position on Friday, taking responsibility for a unit involved in counter-insurgency and counter-terror operations in difficult and high-risk environments.
Her appointment comes at a time when CoBRA has expanded its operational responsibilities beyond its original focus on Maoist-affected regions. Months before Parashar assumed charge, the Union government moved two CoBRA battalions to violence-hit Manipur, where ethnic conflict that began in May 2023 has reportedly left more than 306 people dead and 49 missing. CoBRA personnel have been conducting operations to locate insurgents and recover weapons looted from police armouries.
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CoBRA was established in 2008 during the height of the Maoist insurgency and was specifically trained for jungle warfare, tracking, ambush operations and counter-insurgency missions. The unit played a major role in the Centre’s efforts against Left Wing Extremism. Union home minister Amit Shah told Parliament earlier this year that the government’s March 31 deadline for ending Maoism nationwide had been achieved, citing the surrender of 4,839 insurgents, the deaths of 706 insurgents and the arrest of 2,218 others during three years of intensified anti-Maoist operations.
The CRPF had also announced plans in May to raise an 11th CoBRA battalion for counter-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir. The move reflects the force’s intention to use the unit’s specialised jungle-warfare and counter-insurgency capabilities in other challenging security environments. Parashar’s appointment therefore comes as CoBRA continues to evolve in response to changing operational requirements across the country.
Known in media reports as the “Iron Lady” for her work in counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast, Parashar has held several important positions during her career. She has served as a superintendent of police in Assam, headed the state’s Crime Investigation Department and worked with the National Investigation Agency, the country’s federal counterterrorism and investigative agency. Her experience in policing, intelligence and counter-insurgency operations is expected to be relevant to her new role leading the CRPF’s elite unit.
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