Senior IPS officer Sanjukta Parashar, widely known as the “Iron Lady of Assam”, has become the first woman officer to head the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) elite CoBRA unit. She has taken charge as Inspector General (IG) of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, a specialised force trained for jungle warfare and counter-insurgency operations"Parashar is a 2006-batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. She succeeds 1996-batch IPS officer Danesh Rana as IG of CoBRA. The CRPF headquarters issued the appointment order last week, according to reports. The 10-battalion force has now come under her leadership for the first time under a woman officer. "What Is the CRPF CoBRA Unit?CoBRA stands for Commando Battalion for Resolute Action. It is one of the CRPF’s specialised operational formations and was created mainly to conduct operations against Left Wing Extremism in difficult forest and jungle areas.CoBRA personnel are trained in guerrilla warfare, long-range patrols, ambushes, counter-ambushes, intelligence-based operations and dealing with improvised explosive device threats. The force has operated extensively in areas affected by armed extremist activity, including parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Maharashtra. Two CoBRA units were also recently deployed in Manipur amid continuing armed violence.Why Is Sanjukta Parashar Known as the “Iron Lady of Assam”?The Iron Lady of Assam Sanjukta Parasor earned widespread recognition for her counter-insurgency work in Assam. During her posting as Superintendent of Police in Sonitpur, she was reported to have personally participated in field operations against armed militant groups."A 2015 India Today report described Parashar leading a jungle patrol with an AK-47 while serving as Sonitpur SP. The report said that 16 militants had been killed after she took charge of the district, highlighting the operational environment in which she worked."Sanjukta Parashar’s Professional BackgroundThe Sanjukta Parasor CRPF CoBRA Unit appointment adds her field-policing experience to the leadership of a specialised national security force. She has also served with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and held several assignments in Assam, giving her experience in both operational policing and national security investigations. The appointment makes Sanjukta Parasor first woman officer to lead CoBRA and places a woman officer at the top of one of CRPF’s most specialised jungle-warfare formations.
