CRPF set to replace Army at 21 ‘hypersensitive’ posts in Jammu’s Kathua-Udhampur belt, CoBRA units to move in, report says

New Delhi: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is preparing to take over counterinsurgency and counterterrorism duties from the Army at 21 locations across Udhampur and Kathua in Jammu & Kashmir, according to a News18 report. Security sources say the force has been formally directed to ready itself for the handover, marking one of the more significant realignments of the security grid in the Jammu region in recent years.

The report, citing a senior official, said a communication sent to the CRPF has asked it to prepare for the replacement of Indian Army personnel currently performing designated counterinsurgency and counterterrorism roles at these sites. The force has also been told to widen its operational footprint in the area, which officials describe as hypersensitive and a priority under an existing deployment plan.

The requirement of additional personnel is being worked out, and officials expect the formalities and troop movement to be completed shortly. Two districts – Udhampur and Kathua – form the immediate focus of the transition, both of which have witnessed a resurgence of militant activity over the past couple of years.

CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), the CRPF’s specialized jungle-warfare unit, is central to the plan. Nine CoBRA teams are to remain deployed in the region, while another nine will undergo training before their eventual induction, officials familiar with the plan said. Their operational placement will be adjusted as the security situation evolves.

This is not the CoBRA force’s first appearance in the Jammu sector. Over 25 CRPF companies and two CoBRA units were moved into Kathua, Udhampur and neighbouring Samba in August 2025, in what officials at the time called the CRPF assuming a “big brother” role in counterinsurgency operations along the international border. What is now unfolding appears to be the next, more structured phase of that shift – converting an emergency-style surge into a formal, camp-by-camp transfer of responsibility.

The broader picture, according to the exclusive report that first flagged the move, is one of structural change in how security forces are deployed across Jammu and Kashmir. A phase-wise drawdown of Rashtriya Rifles troops from certain areas has been discussed and is expected to be rolled out progressively, with the CRPF picking up a larger share of counterinsurgency duties in the areas affected.

This is not, however, a full Army withdrawal. A substantial Rashtriya Rifles presence is expected to remain in the union territory even after the restructuring is complete, officials have indicated, with the changes confined to specific hyper-sensitive locations rather than the wider counter-insurgency grid.

Some context helps explain the timing. Kathua’s forested belt has been a persistent worry for security planners since the Pahalgam attack of April 22, 2025, and the launch of Operation Sindoor that followed – the Army had deployed two additional brigades to the district’s Billawar region to hunt infiltrators believed to be using traditional routes through Doda, Kishtwar and Udhampur. Separately, the ministry of home affairs gave in-principle approval last year for the CRPF to raise 20 new battalions for Jammu and Kashmir, and the force’s director general, Gyanendra Pratap Singh, had already announced plans for an eleventh CoBRA battalion – its first dedicated specifically to the Union territory rather than to Naxalite-affected states.

Taken together, the moves suggest a deliberate recalibration rather than a one-off redeployment. Force allocation in Jammu is being reshaped around where the threat is judged to be sharpest, with the CRPF – and its CoBRA wing in particular – emerging as the lead agency in areas the Army has patrolled for years.

Whether the 21-location handover proceeds on the timeline officials expect will depend on how quickly the CRPF can complete its troop assessment and training cycle for the incoming CoBRA teams. For now, the transition remains a work in progress, with formalities still being finalized on the ground.