Charu Sinha becomes first woman officer to head 4 CRPF sectors

 Charu Sinha becomes first woman officer to head 4 CRPF sectors

In September 2020, Sinha also became the first woman officer to be posted as the Srinagar sector CRPF IG

Charu Sinha has become the first woman officer to serve as the inspector general (IG) of four sectors of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) with her transfer to the paramilitary force’s southern sector in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

In September 2020, Sinha also became the first woman officer to be posted as the Srinagar sector CRPF IG. Over the next two years, she led the force in nearly 69 anti-insurgency operations in which at least 21 terrorists were killed, officials said.

She commanded 22 battalions of around 22000 CRPF personnel in the Budgam, Srinagar, and Ganderbal districts of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).

Sinha, the first woman in the force’s leadership role in Kashmir, led a joint CRPF and J&K police team that killed top Lahkar-e-Taiba commander Salim Parray and another “foreign terrorist” in January 2022.

A 1996 batch Indian Police Service officer, she was also involved in anti-Maoist operations in the Bihar sector.

She oversaw the security arrangements for the Amarnath Yatra when it was conducted for the first time in two years after the Covid-19 pandemic in 2022.

She was posted there over a month after the nullification of the Constitution’s Article 370, which stripped the region of its semi-autonomous status in August 2019, and triggered protracted restrictions.

Sinha called her tenure in Kashmir a satisfying one. “We engaged with the youth in Kashmir as part of community outreach programmes. Our priority was to engage the youth in a fruitful exercise, which would help them in finding employment.”

A CRPF officer said Sinha issued an order in 2021 asking all personnel to wear shoe covers before entering homes during cordon and search operations. “It was not just a sign of respect for the people here but also a practical move because most homes have carpets, and some are expensive too.”

Sinha also oversaw the “Love You Zindagi programme” under which courses were organised for junior CRPF personnel to deal with mental health, gender, and financial issues. “Our jawans are posted in the valley for months and live away from their families. There were some who have marital problems. Apart from handling stress, the programme also helped jawans with financial investment,” said a second CRPF personnel.

The CRPF is engaged primarily in maintaining law and order, anti-terror operations, providing security, and guarding vital installations in J&K. Its J&K zone is also the largest.