Rapid Action Force

Wing of the Central Reserve Police Force of India

Law enforcement agency

Rapid Action Force

Emblem of Rapid Action Force

Common name| RAF
Motto| "Serving Humanity with Sensitive Policing"
Agency overview
Formed| 11 November 1991
Volunteers| 1,00,000 Active Personnel
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction| India
Governing body| Ministry of Home Affairs (India)
Operational structure
Headquarters| New Delhi, India
Minister responsible|

* Amit Shah, Union Home Minister

Agency executive|

* Sunil Joon, Inspector General of Police

Parent agency| Central Reserve Police Force[1]
Notables
Anniversary|

* 7 October

Website
RAF website

The Rapid Action Force (RAF), is a specialized rapid reaction wing of the Central Reserve Police Force of India established to deal with riot and crowd control situations.[2]

## History

[edit]

RAF was raised on 11 December 1991 with headquarters in New Delhi. It became fully operational on 7 October 1992, to deal with riots, riot like situations, crowd control, rescue and relief operations, and related unrest.[2][3] The first five battalions were raised by October 1992 and an additional 5 battalions were added in April 1994. In October 2003, with 11 years of service, the force was presented with the President's colours.[2] On 9 November 2013, the RAF Academy of Public Order was established in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.[4][5] In 2017, the Indian government approved an additional five battalions to be based in New Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.[6]

## Organization

[edit]

RAF is commanded by an Inspector-General of Police (IGP), functioning at New Delhi. The RAF is divided into three ranges headed by a DIGP at New Delhi, Mumbai and Dehradun. It has also a specialized training centre "RAPO" (RAF Academy for Public Order) at Meerat (U.P.) headed by a DIGP. The RAF has a distinctive uniform with a blue-coloured camouflage pattern which symbolizes peace. Its motto is "Serving Humanity with Sensitive Policing".

It currently has 15 specialized trained and equipped battalions, which are numbered 83, 91, 97, 99 to 108, 114 and 194 in the CRPF. Each battalion is headed by a Commanding Officer (CO), an officer of the rank of Commandant.[2] The RAF Battalions of CRPF are located at the following places:[7]

S. No. | State | Location | Unit

|
|
|

1 | Rajasthan | Jaipur | 83 RAF
2 | Uttar Pradesh | Varanasi | 91 RAF
3 | Karnataka | Shimoga | 97 RAF
4 | Telangana | Rangareddy | 99 RAF
5 | Gujarat | Ahmedabad | 100 RAF
6 | Uttar Pradesh | Prayagraj | 101 RAF
7 | Maharashtra | Mumbai | 102 RAF
8 | Delhi | Wazirabad | 103 RAF
9 | Uttar Pradesh | Aligarh | 104 RAF
10 | Tamil Nadu | Coimbatore | 105 RAF
11 | Jharkhand | Jamshedpur | 106 RAF
12 | Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal | 107 RAF
13 | Uttar Pradesh | Meerut | 108 RAF
14 | Bihar | Hajipur Vaishali | 114 RAF
15 | Haryana | Nuh | 194 RAF

Team is the smallest independent functional unit of the force and is commanded by an Inspector. Each team has three components, namely riot control, tear some and fire. Each company of RAF has one team composed of women personnel to deal with women demonstrators.[2]

The force is equipped with non-lethal weapons for dispersing the crowd with minimum harm and losses. It is always kept in readiness for rapid deployment when the situation so demands and are only deployed by the orders of Ministry of Home Affairs on specific demands from state governments for a short duration.[8]

Horse Mounted personnel of the RAF for riot-control

## Role

[edit]

### Riot and crowd control

[edit]

This unit has been used to deal with communal violence, law and order duty, festival and election duties and agitation.[6]

### United Nations Peace Keeping Operations

[edit]

The CRPF female and male contingents under the arrangements of RAF are deployed in United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), Monrovia and Zwedru in UN Peacekeeping mission since 2007–08. CRPF Female Formed Police Unit was the first of its kind in the world, which was deployed under the aegis of UN Peace Keeping Mission.[2]

### Humanitarian activities

[edit]

A 2017 stamp dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Rapid Action Force

RAF has also succeeded in projecting the human face of the Government and built bridges with the public by carrying out prompt rescue and relief operations during floods, earthquakes, cyclones and outbreak of epidemics in various parts of the country.[2]

### Anti-terror operations

[edit]

During the November 2008 Mumbai Terror Attacks, RAF was involved in cordoning the areas around the Oberoi Trident and the Taj Mahal hotels. Kamlesh Kumari of the 88 Mahila Battalion was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra for her bravery during the 2001 Indian Parliament attack.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "RAF Sector | Directorate General | Dte/Zone | Central Reserve Police Force, Government of India". www.crpf.nic.in. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
2. ^ a b c d e f g "RAF Sector | Directorate General | Dte/Zone | Central Reserve Police Force, Government of India". crpf.gov.in. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
3. ^ "Rapid Action Force (RAF)". GlobalSecurity.org. Archived from the original on 17 November 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
4. ^ "RAF Academy of Public Order inaugurated in Meerut". Jagranjosh.com. 10 November 2013. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
5. ^ ANI (10 November 2013). "Shinde inaugurates 'RAF Academy of Public Order' in Meerut". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
6. ^ a b "RAF adding 5 new battalions to tackle increasing cases of violence". hindustantimes.com/. 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
7. ^ "Annual Report Ministry of Home Affairs 2019-2020" (PDF). mha.gov.in. MHA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
8. ^ "Annual Report Ministry of Home Affairs 2019-2020" (PDF). mha.gov.in. MHA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022. "The RAF Coys (Companies) are deployed on the request of State Governments for law and order duties, maintenance of peace during various festivals and communal riots, etc. on a short-term basis."
9. ^ Dutta, Anshuman G. (11 August 2009) Armed only with a wireless set, she rushed in to face terrorists Archived 5 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Archive.mid-day.com. Retrieved on 2018-12-26.

* v
* t
* e

Law enforcement agencies of India

Ministries & departments|

| Central|

* Ministry of Home Affairs

|

States|

* Bihar
* Kerala
* Maharashtra
* Tamil Nadu
* Uttar Pradesh
* West Bengal

Records and tracking|

* National Crime Records Bureau
* Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems

Intelligence agencies|

* Bureau of Police Research and Development
* Directorate of Revenue Intelligence
* Intelligence Bureau
* Joint Intelligence Committee
* National Technical Research Organisation
* Research and Analysis Wing
* Special Group
* Special Frontier Force

Investigation agencies|

* Central Bureau of Investigation
* Central Bureau of Narcotics
* Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation
* Enforcement Directorate
* Investigation Division of the Central Board of Direct Taxes
* Narcotics Control Bureau
* National Investigation Agency
* Wildlife Crime Control Bureau

Police forces|

| Police services|

* Indian Police Service
* Delhi
* Uttar Pradesh
* Uttarakhand
* West Bengal

|

Research and Training|

* Bureau of Police Research and Development
* Indian Police Foundation and Institute
* Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy

Central agencies|

* Assam Rifles
* Border Security Force
* Central Armed Police Forces
* Central Industrial Security Force
* Central Reserve Police Force
* Commando Battalion for Resolute Action
* Rapid Action Force
* Government Railway Police
* Home Guard
* Indo-Tibetan Border Police
* National Security Guard
* Railway Protection Force
* Special Protection Group
* Sashastra Seema Bal

| Union territories|

* Andaman and Nicobar
* Chandigarh
* Delhi
* Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
* Jammu and Kashmir
* Ladakh
* Lakshadweep
* Puducherry

|

States|

* Andhra Pradesh
* Arunachal Pradesh
* Assam
* Bihar
* Chhattisgarh
* Goa
* Gujarat
* Haryana
* Himachal Pradesh
* Jharkhand
* Karnataka
* Kerala
* Madhya Pradesh
* Maharashtra
* Manipur
* Meghalaya
* Mizoram
* Nagaland
* Odisha
* Punjab
* Rajasthan
* Sikkim
* Tamil Nadu
* Telangana
* Tripura
* Uttar Pradesh
* Uttarakhand
* West Bengal

| Armed and tactical units|

* Anti-Terrorism Squad
* Counter Insurgency Force
* Eastern Frontier Rifles
* Force One
* Greyhounds
* Kerala Thunderbolts
* Mizoram Armed Police
* Punjab Police SWAT Team
* Special Operations Group (Jammu and Kashmir)
* Special Operation Group (Odisha)
* Special Tactical Unit
* Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary
* Uttarakhand Provincial Armed Constabulary

|

Law enforcement in India
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template