Rajnath Singh commissions CRPF's anti-naxal 'Bastariya' battalion in Raipur

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned the maiden anti-naxal 'Bastariya' battalion of CRPF in Raipur on Monday. 

It will have more than 534 tribal youth from Chhattisgarh. The squad that passed out on Monday has 33 per cent representation of women combatants with 189 women constables. 

A senior official said the hardcore and localised battalion



of young combatants will be immediately deployed for anti-naxal operations in some of the worst Left Wing Extremism-hit areas, such as Sukma, Dantewada and Bijapur.

The battalion is named 'Bastariya' as its members are from Bastar region in southern Chhattisgarh, bordering Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana.