The State Armed Police Forces[1] of India are the police units for dealing with serious law and order situations requiring a higher level of armed expertise than normal. The State Armed Police Forces exist in addition to the ordinary police services of the various states.
All states have different title for their armed police units. In addition to the term "Armed Police", other titles in different states include Special Armed Police, Armed Constabulary, Provincial Armed Constabulary, Pradeshik and State Military Police. Although the titles are different, their organization, weapons, equipment and tasks are nearly the same. The central government of India now refers to these forces nationwide as the State Armed Police Forces and discourages use of the term "paramilitary". However, this terminology does not necessarily coincide with the existing terminology of the states of India; For example, the state of Bihar calls its state armed police force "Military Police", which clashes with central government definitions of "military" and "paramilitary". It is not yet clear whether such discrepancies will be resolved.
The State Armed Police act as a mobile armed reserve activated only on the orders from the Additional Commissioner of Police or above. They are not usually in contact with the public except during public events, civil unrest, and natural disasters. They maintain key guard posts and participate in antiterrorist operations. Depending on the type of assignment, they may be or may not be carrying firearms.
Within states, each police district may maintain its own teams of policemen with higher firearms competence. Such teams, known as "district armed police", are for purely local use and are not part of the State Armed Police Forces.
Contents |
The Bihar Military Police is the state armed police force for Bihar. It is currently frequently involved in clashes with Maoist rebels. The force has been expanding since 2006 to deal with the Maoist insurgency. In the past the BMP was perceived as being hostile to the Bihari Muslim minority,[2] but today a disproportionate number of BMP officers are Bihari Muslims.[3]
In Kerala, the armed police trace their origins to the early stages of the Kerala Police.
The armed police units of Kerala are:
The "Inspector General of Police, Armed Police Battalions", is the controlling authority who is assisted by the "Deputy Inspector General of Police, Armed Police Battalions". Each Battalion is under the control of a "Commandant" with the rank of Superintendent of Police.
The Special Armed Police was formed in 1955 by the then Travancore-Cochin government with its Headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram. Besides law and order duties in the southern range, Special Armed Police personnel are assigned to guard duties at the Raj Bhavan (Government House), Police Headquarters, etc. For the welfare of their personnel, the S.A.P have a canteen, a gymnasium, a hospital with lab facilities and a nursery school. At present this battalion has a strength of seven companies.
Orissa's state armed police are called the Special Armed Police (SAP). They were formed in 1946 as the Orissa Military Police, and the current name was adopted in 1980. There are currently 8 regular battalions and one reserve battalion. The headquarters of the SAP is at state Police Headquarters in Cuttack. The force is under the general control and direction of the Director General and the Inspector General of Police.
The Orissa Military Police was formed on 1 March 1946 by the Orissa Military Police Act (Orissa Act VII of 1946). Soon after its creation this force had to handle serious situations in places like Bhadrak, Ib, Barang, Rampur, Cuttack etc. Due to strenuous nature of work of the military police and need for more personnel its strength was increased in 1947 and 1948. The strenth was further increased with the formation of a Gurkha Military Police unit. On 1 st March 1948, after merger of feudatory States in the Province of Orissa, there was a re-organisation of the police organization and the 2nd Battalion of the Orissa Military police was established. This battalion had both Gurkha and Oriya companies. While the battalion headquarters was at Dhenkanal, two detachment camps of this battalion were functioning at Nayagarh and Jharsuguda. Subsequently, other battalions were formed in different parts of the state.
The Punjab Armed Police (PAP) have their headquarters at a base called PAP Jalandhar. This is where armed policemen of the Punjab are trained. Before the Border Security Force came into existence, PAP used to protect the most sensitive border of the country common with Pakistan. PAP Jawans have a number of international players in hockey, weight lifting, volley ball, kabaddi, etc. The campus is in a huge area and is complete in itself in the areas of housing, sports grounds, training equipment, halls, schools, hospital, swimming pool etc.
The operational PAP units are:
Rajasthan's main state armed police are the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC). There is also another smaller armed unit called the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS). Each of these two forces is one of the eight "wings" of the Rajasthan Police. In addition to their other duties, the RAC are deployed to counter lawlessness in Rajasthan's dense forests, such as attacks on foresters, illegal grazing, illegal mining, and poaching.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) consists of several battalions located in different cities across the state as a wing of Uttar Pradesh Police. Each battalion has seven to eight companies consisting of 150 to 200 Jawans. The PAC is headed by the Director General Provincial Armed Constabulary (DG PAC).[4]
A unit called Special Police Force (SPF) previously existed to operate in cooperation with Indian Army. In the 1990s the SPF was merged into the 9th battalion of the PAC, which is situated in Moradabad.
Unlike other states of India, the state of West Bengal has two separate police jurisdictions, that of the West Bengal Police, and that of the Kolkata Police Force. It therefore has two separate state armed police structures, one for each jurisdiction.Special forces of West Bengal are STRACO Force and Counter Insurgency Force.
The Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) are the state armed police force for the West Bengal Police (i.e. as opposed to the police in Kolkata).
The Eastern Frontier Rifles were founded as the Frontier Protection Force by the East India Company at some point in the second half of the eighteenth century, and have had their current title since 1920. The Eastern Frontier Rifles fought in the Second World War, and, as the Bengal Military Police, in the First World War.
Many contingents of EFR are kept deployed in various disturbed areas of the state. However, in recent years the force has used for day-to-day law & order duties. The headquarter of EFR at Salua, near Kharagpur.
Like the armed police forces of many states, the EFR are currently challenged with the naxalite insurgency. In February 2010 an EFR camp called Silda was attacked and burnt down by maoist rebels, resulting in 24 riflemen killed out of a detachment of about fifty. This resulted in condemnation of the state government by the EFR Special Inspector General, Benoy Chakraborty, who claimed his force was "mis-used" and "ill-treated". Morale in the force is believed to be low.[5]
The Kolkata Armed Police (KAP) are West Bengal's state armed police force for operations in Kolkata. The KAF is part of the Kolkata Police Force and consists of eight battalions, and three special units. The special units are the Rapid Action force (RAF), the Special Action Force (SAF) (approx. 160 members) and the Commando Force (approximately 200 members) and also have Combat Force .