Punjab cop to head CRPF anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh

Gallantry award winning IPS officer of Punjab cadre, Harpreet Singh Sidhu, will lead the CRPF anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh.

Gallantry award winning IPS officer of Punjab cadre, Harpreet Singh Sidhu, will lead the CRPF anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh.

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Sidhu, a 1992 batch officer, will replace incumbent Zulfikar Hasan as the new Inspector General (Operations).

Currently, there are 20,000 CRPF personnel deployed in Chhattisgarh for anti-Naxal operations.

Sidhu, at present an IG in Punjab Police, has won the President Medal for Gallantry (PMG) in 2003 and is considered to be a task-oriented officer.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is the lead force in Chhattisgarh and other Naxal affected states in the counter-operations against Maoist cadres, in coordination with state police.

CRPF has 18 regular battalions and two specialist CoBRA units in Chhattisgarh.

It will soon induct two fresh battalions in the south of Bastar area, where Naxals had recently carried out a big attack and killed various senior Congress leaders.