The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been using modified Critical Situation Response Vehicles (CSRV), which can accommodate at least three commandos and be raised to reach the upper floors of a building while shielding them from the bullets, in counter-terror operations in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K)’s urban areas.
CSRVs came under the spotlight after the photograph of one of them at the scene of Tuesday’s operation in J&K’s Pulwama was circulated on social media.
Two terrorists Aqib Mushtaq Bhatt and Aijaz Ahmad Bhatt blamed for the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit days earlier were shot dead in the operation. An army soldier was also killed and another was injured in the operation.
CRPF officers said they have two CSRVs and one of them was used in Pulwama as the two terrorists refused to surrender and continued to fire indiscriminately at security forces.
The two were hiding in a mosque and were also allegedly involved in the killing of two migrant workers last year.
The hard armour at CSRV’s front can also be used to break walls and provide an entry into a building for security personnel.
“The two CSRVs were designed and developed for counter-terror operations in urban or semi-urban areas during 2018-2020. Both are used only in the Valley. The vehicles were modified with the help of the Special Vehicles Branch of Motor Transport Directorate, CRPF headquarters,’ said a CRPF officer.
{{/usCountry}}“The two CSRVs were designed and developed for counter-terror operations in urban or semi-urban areas during 2018-2020. Both are used only in the Valley. The vehicles were modified with the help of the Special Vehicles Branch of Motor Transport Directorate, CRPF headquarters,’ said a CRPF officer.
{{/usCountry}}The officer added the branch is mandated to work on the design and commission of all types of armoured and specialised vehicles into the force. CSRVs can negotiate small and congested lanes, the officer added.
“It is provided with...a hydro-pneumatic hammer for ramming and breaching the compound boundary wall structure. It also helps in the demolition of any obstruction such as tin sheet boundary at perimeters.”
The armoured platform at the front of a CSRV accommodates armed soldiers to engage any target. “The platform can be raised or elevated with hydraulic power to provide an aerial view to the soldiers to effectively engage the enemy,” the officer said.
The officer added raising a platform before engaging a target helps at times when they find it unsafe to enter a building from the ground floor.
The CRPF took the concept from The Rook vehicle the US security agencies use in similar operations.
CRPF inspector general (Kashmir operations sector) MS Bhatia, said such vehicles boost the morale of personnel. “It has effective bullet-proofing for conventional and non-conventional ammunition. Our personnel know that using CSRV, they can enter any building and can engage the target from any level.”
Bhatia said a CSRV can reach even up to the second floor of a building. “It is certainly a force multiplier. The government has focused a lot on the modernisation of weapons and other devices for the force. We now have some of the best gadgets.”
The CRPF developed the vehicle’s first prototype in 2012 in collaboration with Defence Research and Development Organisation. The bulletproof Anti-Terrorist Vehicles were then inducted for security at the Parliament Complex. The same were modified and then sent to Kashmir.
Another CRPF officer cited the operational requirements and said the design features and broad specifications were finalised in Delhi and the fabrication was undertaken in Greater Noida. “We used the first vehicle on June 3, 2021, when a Pakistan-trained terrorist, Mohammed Amin Malik hid in a CRPF camp, snatched a weapon, and fired indiscriminately. Malik was neutralised that day. No civilian or security personnel were injured that day.”