CRPF dons the battle gear

Blue-painted abdomen guards, thick shin, thigh, shoulder and arm guards. Helmets and knee-cap-guards. This is what the new riot-gear, introduced for the first time in Jammu & Kashmir, looks like. The CRPF has donned its personnel with this gear to face the stone-pelting mobs of Srinagar.

Concept and design for the uniform, sources said, were conceived by CRPF headquarters in New Delhi.

“Yes, new uniforms have been introduced in downtown Srinagar but I am not aware of the specifications,” said CRPF spokesman Prabhakar Tripathy.

The riot gear was introduced this week. “Many of my colleagues were injured since January 2010 in stone pelting. I feel comfortable in new riot-gear. It shields all vital organs,” said a CRPF personnel.