State Armed Police Forces
Encyclopedia
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 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.
. 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, but today a disproportionate number of BMP officers are Bihari Muslims.
, 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.
. 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 1st 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.
. 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 Jawan
s 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:
'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.
. 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).
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
.
, 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.
(i.e. as opposed to the police in Kolkata
).
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.
.
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.
. 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 .
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
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
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
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
Deputy Inspector General of Police
A deputy inspector general of police is a high ranking senior police officer in several countries.- India :Deputy inspector general of police or additional commissioner of police is a one-star rank in the Indian Police Service...
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 BiharBihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
. 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, but today a disproportionate number of BMP officers are Bihari Muslims.
Kerala Armed Police
In KeralaKerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, the armed police trace their origins to the early stages of the Kerala Police.
The armed police units of Kerala are:
- The Kerala Armed Police Battalions (numbered I to V)
- The Kerala Special Armed Police
- The State Rapid Action Force.
- The Malabar Special PoliceMalabar Special PoliceThe Malabar Special Police is a paramilitary unit of the State Police of Kerala, India. This unit also trains new recruits and also helps the local police units to maintain law and order during emergencies. During emergencies, this unit forms the riot police platoons fully equipped with riot gear...
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
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
-Cochin government with its Headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
. Besides law and order duties in the southern range, Special Armed Police personnel are assigned to guard duties at the Raj Bhavan
Raj Bhavan (Kerala)
Raj Bhavan is the official residence of the Governor of Kerala. It is located in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Built in 1829 as Palace Guest house of Travancore Government Guest, this heritage structure hosts the present governor of Kerala is H.E R.S...
(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 Special Armed Police
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 CuttackCuttack
Cuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the...
. 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 1st 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
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
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
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
and Oriya
Oriya
Oriya or Odia may refer to:*Oriya cuisine* Oriya people in India* Oriya language* Oriya script* Oriya literature* Oriya cinema...
companies. While the battalion headquarters was at Dhenkanal, two detachment camps of this battalion were functioning at Nayagarh
Nayagarh
Nayagarh is a town and a notified area committee in Nayagarh district in the Indian state of Orissa. It is the headquarters of Nayagarh district.-Geography:Nayagarh is located at...
and Jharsuguda
Jharsuguda
Jharsuguda is the district headquarters of Jharsuguda district of Orissa, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Jharsuguda district. It is an upcoming industrial hub, basically in the metal and cement sectors. Jharsuguda is well connected to all major cities of India through rail network...
. Subsequently, other battalions were formed in different parts of the state.
Punjab Armed Police
The Punjab Armed Police (PAP) have their headquarters at a base called PAP JalandharJalandhar
Jalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh...
. This is where armed policemen of the Punjab are trained. Before the Border Security Force
Border Security Force
The Border Security Force is a border patrol agency of the Government of India. Established on December 1, 1965, it is one of the Central Armed Police Forces. Its primary role is to guard India's international borders during peacetime and also prevent transnational crime...
came into existence, PAP used to protect the most sensitive border of the country common with Pakistan. PAP Jawan
Jawan
Jawan refers to a young man in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, and Punjabi. It can also refer to a "donkey" in the Bengali language. In the Indian subcontinent, it has additionally taken on the reference to an infantryman, and is used in much the same meaning as soldier in English...
s 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:
- 7th Battalion, headquartered at PAP Jalandhar Cantt
- 9th Battalion, headquartered at PAP AmritsarAmritsarAmritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
- 13th Battalion, headquartered at PAP ChandigarhChandigarhChandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
- 27th Battalion, headquartered at PAP Jalandhar Cantt
- 36th Battalion, headquartered at PAP Bahadurgarh Patiala
- 75th Battalion, headquartered at PAP Jalandhar Cantt
- 80th Battalion, headquartered at PAP Jalandhar Cantt
- 82nd Battalion, headquartered at PAP ChandigarhChandigarhChandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
Rajasthan Armed Constabulary
RajasthanRajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
'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
Rajasthan Police
The Rajasthan Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Rajasthan in India. The Rajasthan Police has its headquarters in Jaipur, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Sevarth Katibaddhta", which means "Committed to serve".- History :...
. 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.
Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary
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 PoliceUttar Pradesh Police
Uttar Pradesh Police is the police force of the state of Uttar Pradesh. UP Police is the largest police force in the world working under a single command.The Uttar Pradesh Police was formed in 1861 when the Indian Police Act came to be operational...
. 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).
A unit called Special Police Force (SPF) previously existed to operate in cooperation with Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
. In the 1990s the SPF was merged into the 9th battalion of the PAC, which is situated in Moradabad
Moradabad
Moradabad is a city and a municipal corporation in Moradabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established in 1600 by prince Murad, the son of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan; as a result the city came to be known as Moradabad. It is the administrative headquarters of...
.
West Bengal armed police forces
Unlike other states of India, the state of West Bengal has two separate police jurisdictions, that of the West Bengal PoliceWest Bengal Police
The West Bengal Police is one of the two police forces of the Indian state of West Bengal....
, 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.
Eastern Frontier Rifles
The Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) are the state armed police force for the West Bengal PoliceWest Bengal Police
The West Bengal Police is one of the two police forces of the Indian state of West Bengal....
(i.e. as opposed to the police in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
).
History
The Eastern Frontier Rifles were founded as the Frontier Protection Force by the East India CompanyEast India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
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.
- 18th century18th centuryThe 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar.During the 18th century, the Enlightenment culminated in the French and American revolutions. Philosophy and science increased in prominence. Philosophers were dreaming about a better age without the Christian fundamentalism of...
: Founded as Frontier Protection Force. - 1795: Renamed Ramgarh Local Battalion
- 1861: Renamed Frontier Guards
- 1891: Renamed Bengal Military Police, modernised, & given up-to-date weaponry (NB: An unrelated unit45th Rattray's SikhsThe 45th Rattray's Sikhs was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to the 1st Bengal Military Police Battalion raised in April 1856, at Lahore, by Captain Thomas Rattray originally consisting of a troop of 100 cavalry and 500 infantry...
had previously used the same title) - 1920: Reorganised and renamed Eastern Frontier Rifles
- 1947: The force was split between the Indian state of West BengalWest BengalWest Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, and PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The Pakistani part became the East PakistanEast PakistanEast Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
Rifles, which became the Bangladesh RiflesBangladesh RiflesBorder Guard Bangladesh is the oldest uniformed force in Bangladesh. It is a paramilitary force under the Ministry of Home Affairs of Bangladesh...
when BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
became independent, and Border Guards Bangladesh in 2010. The West Bengal part retained its title of Eastern Frontier Rifles.
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 headquarter of EFR at Salua, near KharagpurKharagpur
Kharagpur is an industrial city in India. It is located in the Midnapore West district of the state of West Bengal.Kharagpur was chosen as the location of the first campus of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology . The IITs are the premier technical education institutes in India and...
.
Like the armed police forces of many states, the EFR are currently challenged with the naxalite
Naxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
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.
Kolkata Armed Police
The Kolkata Armed Police (KAP) are West Bengal's state armed police force for operations in KolkataKolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
. 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 .