NEW DELHI: The first batch of 32 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) women commandos will soon be deployed for the protection of Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and other Z-plus protectees such as former prime minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur.
The women commandos will be deployed for multiple duties, which could include accompanying the VIP politicians during their campaigning for the upcoming Assembly polls in five states, sources said. The commandos had completed their 10-week training on December 10 in rendering VIP security duties, unarmed combat, body frisking and special weapons firing. They will now be deployed on the ground around the second week of January 2022, sources said.
Initially, these commandos will be deployed with CRPF’s Z-plus category protectees based in Delhi. According to sources, over a dozen protectees will have the CRPF’s new women commando contingent on a rotational basis.
The commandos will be deployed as part of the house protection team of the VIPs and they will also accompany the personalities, if required, during the upcoming polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa.
As part of the house protection duties, the commandos will frisk female visitors and they will also be part of the overall security detail of the VIP’s house during tours. Sources added that the newly trained commandos will also provide proximate security to the protectees, especially in the case of Sonia and Priyanka.
Like their male counterparts, the women CRPF commandos will also carry arms, ballistic protection and other gadgets as required on the job. Elections in five states are expected to be held in February-March next year and a hectic political campaign is likely with politicians, party leaders and ministers gearing up to make whirlwind tours.