New Delhi: Sanjukta Parasor, a 2006-batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre IPS officer, has been appointed Inspector General (IG) of the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), becoming the first woman officer to lead the specialised jungle warfare commando unit.
Parasor succeeds 1996-batch IPS officer Danesh Rana (IPS:1996:AGMUT) as IG, CoBRA. The CRPF headquarters issued the appointment order last week.
Parasor has served in her cadre state of Assam as well as in the National Investigation Agency (NIA), where she handled counter-terror and national security investigations. Before her appointment as IG, CoBRA, she was heading the CID wing of Assam Police.
CoBRA is the CRPF’s specialised jungle warfare commando force, raised in 2008-09 to tackle Left Wing Extremism in several states and insurgency in certain Northeastern states. The force has been extensively involved in operations in forested areas affected by Left-wing extremism.
Parasor has extensive operational experience from her career in Assam. At the beginning of her career as an Assistant Commandant, she handled clashes involving Bodo groups and migrants from Bangladesh. Later, as Superintendent of Police (SP), Sonitpur, she led operations against the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), resulting in the killing of 16 militants and arrest of 64 others, according to reports.
Her photograph while leading an operation with an AK-47 in her hand earned her the nickname “Iron Lady of Assam”. She also received death threats from Bodo militants, according to reports.
Parasor’s appointment comes amid the CRPF placing more women officers in leadership roles, including operationally sensitive and combat-heavy assignments. Recently, A Vijaya Laxmi, 2006 batch IPS officer from Jharkhand cadre, was posted as IG, Jammu, while Nitu D Bhattacharya, a 1991 CRPF officer, is heading the MP sector. Kavita Jalan, an Odisha cadre IPS officer of 2003 batch, is heading the North East sector, while Gujarat cadre 2002 batch IPS officer Archana Shivhare is IG, Rajasthan.
The Rapid Action Force (RAF) is also headed by Seema Dhundia, who was inducted into the CRPF in 1987 as part of the first batch of women officers.
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