The strategic command of CRPF that deals with anti-naxalite operations has been shifted from Kolkata to Chhattisgarh.

• In 2010, the central zone command headquarters was shifted from Raipur to Kolkata owing to logistics and connectivity issues.
• The recent decision comes at the backdrop of ambush in Sukma district that killed 37 jawans of the paramilitary force. CRPF is the largest central armed police force or paramilitary force in India.
• It functions under the aegis of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• It was established in 1939, under Crown Representative’s Police but after independence, it was made statutory after enactment of the CRPF Act, 1949.

Its primary role is to assist States/Union Territories in police operations to maintain law and order and contain the insurgency. Apart from anti-Naxal operations, CRPF personnel also carries out several operations in situations of crisis like terrorist attacks, counter-terrorism operations, rescuing citizens during terrorist attacks among others.