An all-women marching and band contingent of the CRPF will be part of the forthcoming Republic Day parade

An all-women marching and band contingent of the CRPF will be part of the forthcoming Republic Day parade in the national capital, officials said Monday.

The contingent is currently rehearsing for the January 26 national event at the Kartavya Path (Rajpath earlier) and has been inducted as part of the overall theme of 'nari shakti' or women power set by the Union government for the Republic Day 2023, they said.

The Central Reserve Police Force, the country's largest paramilitary force with close to 3.25 lakh personnel in its ranks, is also preparing a tableau on the theme of 'women empowerment' that will feature all the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), a senior CRPF officer said.

Apart from the CRPF, the other CAPFs are Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Services Selection Board (SSB) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and they all have women personnel in their ranks.

The parade which showcases India's military prowess and cultural richness, ambles down the Kartavya Path, from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to Red Fort via the India Gate every year on January 26.

The lead internal security force of the country is majorly deployed in three major combat theatres of Left Wing Extremism (LWE), counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir and counter-insurgency operations in northeastern states.

As per official data, CRPF killed a total of 148 terrorists and Maoists in 128 encounters that took place in 2022.

This includes 135 terrorists killed in J-K, 12 Naxals neutralised in the LWE-affected states and one insurgent who was killed in Assam, the officer said.

A total of 1,883 ultras (terrorists, Maoists and insurgents) were apprehended by the force last year which includes 209 in J-K, 485 in LWE-affected states, 1,175 in northeastern states, and 14 caught from other parts of the country, the data said.

A total of 1,767 surrenders were also secured by the force, that includes two in J-K, 474 in LWE regions and 1,291 in northeast states, it said.

A total of 48 forward operating bases (FOBs) were created by the CRPF in various LWE-affected states in the last year.

"The maximum FOBs, 20, were established in Jharkhand followed by 13 in Chhattisgarh. This brings the total number of FOBs established since 2021 to 78," the officer said.

The FOBs serve as a base for the security forces to launch coordinated operations in remote Naxal violence-affected areas and, according to the CRPF, help the forces in cutting off the Maoist supply lines.