Guwahati: The state will soon get an elite Rapid Action Force (RAF) battalion of the
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to combat unrest and riots, especially in Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD).
The RAF is a specialized wing of the paramilitary forces and helps control riots, riot-like situations and unruly crowds. It also helps in rescue and relief operations.
The decision to set up the battalion came after communal violence rocked western Assam’s BTAD recently.
The area has witnessed such unrest several times in the last couple of years. The
Assam battalion is part of a total of five new RAF battalions to be set up in the country. The battalion will be set up in Guwahati soon.
“The Centre has realized the importance of having RAF battalions on standby. Therefore, it has decided to set up five new RAF battalions across the country,” CRPF DG Dilip Trivedi said during a programme marking the 22nd Formation Day of RAF in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
On the deployment of a RAF battalion in Guwahati, he said the anti-riot unit would be helpful in curbing frequent conflicts in the troubled BTAD.
“The establishment of RAF battalions in conflict regions will help the force understand and be familiar with
the situation in that region,” he said.
A RAF battalion, usually comprising 100 personnel, covers a radius of 400 km from its headquarters. RAF units are deployed only after orders from the home ministry, upon a specific demand from the
state government.
Earlier, in 2011, a six-member team of RAF instructors had trained a batch of 69
Assam Police personnel in the skills required to disperse any unlawful assembly with minimum force and collateral damage.
The training modules included controlling mobs through persuasion by forming a chain or wall of police officials, using minimum force through water canons, teargas and other non-lethal weapons such as stun grenade, dye grenade, stink bombs and rubber and plastic bullets to avoid loss of life.