State Armed Police Forces

The State Armed Police Forces 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 organisation, 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.

Bihar Military Police

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.

Karnataka State Reserve Police

In Karnataka, the armed police trace their origins to the erstwhile Mysore State Imperial Service.

The armed police of Karnataka are:

The KSRP is headed by an officer of the rank of Additional Director General of Police, who is assisted by an Inspector General and two Deputy Inspectors General of Police at the Police Headquarters. The Karnataka State Reserve Police at present consists of 10 Battalions. 4 Battalions have their headquarters at Bangalore and 1 each at Mysore, Belgaum, Gulbarga, Mangalore, Shimoga and Shiggoan.

Training Schools:

The Coastal Security Police was established in the year 1999. The wing is headed by an Officer of the rank of Inspector General of Police, followed by Superintendent of Police & other Staff. The CSP exercises jurisdiction over the territorial Coastal waters of Karnataka from Talapady in Dakshina Kannada District to Sadashivgad in Uttara Kannada District covering about 320 km.

Kerala Armed Police

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.

Madhya Pradesh Special Armed Police

The main objective of this Department is to maintain Law and Order in the State.The responsibility of this Special Armed Force to look after the law and arrangement and also to control the areas affected by Naxalites, Social Courtesies, removal of bandits. Other than this they are active against Natural calamities like Flood, Earthquake etc. Moreover, these special forces are active in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and in the States of South to control the terrorism in these place.

Odisha(ଓଡ଼ିଶା) Special Armed Police

Odisha's state armed police are called the Special Armed Police (SAP). They were formed in 1946 as the Odisha 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 Odisha Military Police was formed on 1 March 1946 by the Odisha Military Police Act (Odisha 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 strength was further increased with the formation of a Gurkha Military Police unit. On 1 March 1948, after a merging of the feudal states into the Province of Odisha, there was a re-organisation of the police organisation and the 2nd Battalion of the Odisha Military police was established. This battalion had both Gurkha and Odia companies. While the battalion headquarters was at Dhenkanal, two detachments of this battalion were stationed at Nayagarh and Jharsuguda. Subsequently, other battalions were formed in different parts of the state.

SOG (Special Operations Group) is the Special Forces element of the Odisha Police. The SOG was formed in August 2004 on the orders of the Government of Odisha Home office with the objective of neutralising any terrorist, insurgent, extremist or illegal armed groups operating in Odisha. The SOG originally had 462 regular active posts which by 2009 had grown to 1,370 personnel. It does not recruit personnel directly, instead personnel are drawn from various state police units and the assignments are based on tenures with a maximum period of 3 years. It also allows hiring of operatives from the armed forces, central paramilitary forces and police units of other states. Operatives receive training at a special school in Chandaka and also from the Indian army base in Jabalpur. The main role of the SOG is counter-insurgency operations but handling hostage situations and hijackings also come under its responsibility. It works closely with the Special Intelligence Wing of the Odisha Police.

Punjab Armed Police

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, volleyball, 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 Armed Constabulary

Rajasthan Armed Constabulary Rajasthan Armed Constabulary

Soon after Independence, the law and order situation along the newly formed 1070 km India-Pakistan border became a serious problem. Incursions and cattle lifting by Pakistani raiders was a regular feature and it became imperative to put an end to it. In 1949-50, the duty of guarding the border was assigned to the joint forces of the Central Reserve Police and the Provincial Armed Constabulary, which continued until 1952.

In 1952, the Government of Rajasthan decided to raise a temporary special force that could not only be deployed along the border but also assist the civil police in combating the armed banditry known as "dacoity". The first headquarters and training centre was established at Bharatpur in 1952 and five battalions were raised from ex-soldiers, police and from other sources including outwith Rajasthan. Each battalion consisted of six mobile companies and one company remained at the battalion headquarters. These battalions were then dispatched to the border areas of Sriganganagar, Raisinghnagar, Barmer, and Jaisalmer. One unit was stationed at Ghat Gate, Jaipur to combat dacoity.

Within a year of its inception, the RAC proved its worth both on the border and within the State by successfully carrying out its various duties. The members of RAC displayed gallantry and high sense of morale on occasions that required courage, perseverance, and devotion to duty. Its men battled against all odds, combating not only the enemy but also facing the rigours of the desert areas devoid even of the bare necessities of life.

The RAC continued as a temporary force until 1958, there after it was made permanent. In 1962, two companies were taken out of each unit and the 6th Battalion was formed. From that year up to the late 1970s more battalions of RAC were raised as demanded by the situation. India saw two wars with Pakistan and one with China and there was unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, NEFA, as well as Mizoram. RAC battalions were dispatched to these sensitive areas and earned accolades for their courage and efficiency. Later, seven of these RAC battalions were merged into the Indian Border Security Force and two into the Central Reserve Police Force.

The RAC has formed various specialist units along with its regular battalions.

In 1998, a Special Task Force, along the lines of the Rapid Action Force of C.R.P.F., was formed to maintain peace in the sensitive districts of Rajasthan. These companies are trained and fully equipped to handle mass riots.

The training imparted to the select RAC companies is decided as per requirements. There are 3 companies of RAC, which have drawn expert swimmers from various R.A.C. battalions and are being trained for flood relief work.

There are currently fifteen battalions of RAC including one special battalion formed of only female Constables called the Hadi Rani Mahila Battalion and one further battalion of MBC held as the States para-military force. Out of the 14 regular battalions of RAC, 11 battalions are deployed in Rajasthan while 3 are deployed to Delhi.

All units

  • First Battalion-Jodhpur
  • Second Battalion- Kota
  • Third Battalion-Bikaner
  • Forth Battalion-Jaipur
  • Fifth Battalion-Jaipur
  • Sixth Battalion-Dholpur
  • Seventh Battalion-Bharatpur
  • Eighth Battalion-Delhi
  • Ninth Battalion-Tonk
  • Tenth Battalion-Bikaner
  • Eleventh Battalion-Delhi
  • Twelfth Battalion-Delhi
  • Thirteenth Battalion-Jail Security
  • Fourteenth Battalion-Bharatpur

Special battalions

History of the Mewar Bhil Corps

In the second half of the 18th century, the hilly region of Rajasthan comprising Mewar, Dungarpur, Banswara, and Pratapgarh was in a state of perpetual disorder. Weak administration and indisciplined armies could not control the criminal activities of the Bhils of this hilly region. During the first half of the 19th century the number of murders and robberies increased to an alarming extent. The British Political Agents proposed the setting up of a special force that could tackle this problem. Initially, the force deployed consisted of army officers drawn from the native infantry but that too proved ineffective.

Then, in 1837, Col. James Outram, the Political Agent of Mahikanta, proposed the establishment of a Bhil corps under the command of a British officer. This policy of recruiting local people for helping in the maintenance of order among their own people was a successful experiment. Initially the Mewar Bhil Corps was funded by the rulers of Mewar, Pratapgarh, Dungarpur and Banswara, but before long, the finance and administration was taken over totally by the British Indian Army. Other than Bhils, efforts were made to enlist the Garasias and Gametis into MBC. By 1841, the entire hilly tracts of Mewar were put under the supervision of the Commandant of the Corps. This had a beneficial effect on the law and order situation in the southern region and there was a fair state of discipline.

The MBC remained a regular unit of the Indian Army until 1938, but was transferred to Rajasthan Police in 1950. They were allowed to discharge the same duties and functions, which they did prior to the separation. Uniform pay scales introduced by the government were also made applicable to them subsequently, bringing them on par with other members of the Rajasthan Police. The sole Battalion of M.B.C. are deployed in Udaipur Range.

Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary

In Uttar Pradesh, the Provincial Armed Constabulary or Pradeshik Armed Constabulary (PAC) is an armed reserve maintained at key locations across state and active only on orders from the deputy inspector general and higher-level authorities.[1] It is usually assigned to VIP duty or to maintain order during fairs, festivals, athletic events, elections, and natural disasters. They are also deployed to quell outbreaks of student or labor unrest, organised crime, and communal riots; to maintain key guard posts; and to participate in antiterrorist operations. The Provincial Armed Constabulary usually carries only lathis. UP-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).[2][3]

West Bengal armed police forces

The state of West Bengal has the most extensive armed police organisation and structure in the country. 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:

Eastern Frontier Rifles

The Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) is one of the state armed police force for the West Bengal Police, the other being the West Bengal Armed Police (WBAP). (i.e. as opposed to the police in Kolkata).

History

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 18th 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.

Recent events

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 headquarters 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.[4]

Kolkata Armed Police

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.

Mizoram Armed Police

The Mizoram Armed Police(MAP) consist of 3 battalions with 5 Indian Reserve Battalion. All these components make up the Mizoram Armed Police. Each battalion is commanded by a Commandant of rank Superintendent of Police / Deputy Commissioner of Police / Commandant. Each battalion also have a special commando/SWAT unit.

Equipment

The Indian Ordnance Factories controlled by the Ordnance Factories Board, Ministry of Defence, Government of India are the sole suppliers of equipment to all the State Armed Police Forces.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pradeshik Armed Constabulary". www.uppolice.gov.in. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  2. ↑ "Gazette of India, part I, section 1". Government of India. 19 January 1957. p. 16.
  3. ↑ Official website Uttar Pradesh Police
  4. ↑ http://www.topnews.in/law/eastern-frontier-rifles-misused-illtreated-29023
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