BASTAR: In a first, the CRPF is likely to hold the 84th Raising Day event in the Naxal-dominated Bastar district of CG according to officials. The ceremonial parade would be reviewed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah the source added.

The CRPF-Central Armed Police Force is the largest armed force in the country with about 3.25 lakh personnel operating in three main domains namely the Left Wing Extremism, counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast, and counter-terrorist operations in J&K.

Bastar district, located in the southern-most region of Chhattisgarh, is flanked by districts like Sukma, Dantewada, and Bijapur that have seen major Maoist attacks and counter-offensive operations by security forces led by the CRPF. Nearly 15 FOBs have been created in the Bastar region of CG- the last bastion.

The 83rd Raising Day was organized in J&K last year after the govt had asked all paramilitary forces to hold events outside the national capital.

The force was raised in 1939 and India’s first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel presented the Presidential colors to it on March 19, 1950