Charu Sinha Becomes First Woman IPS Officer To Head CRPF’s Srinagar Sector

For the first time, Charu Sinha, a female IPS officer has been appointed as the head of Central Reserve Police Force's (CRPF) Srinagar sector, officials said on Tuesday. Talking about her posting, Charu who has been appointed as the Inspector General (IG) at militancy-affected Srinagar sector of J&K said, “As always, I am looking forward to my new assignment,” Tribune India reported.

Who is Charu Sinha?

Charu Sinha is a Telangana-cadre officer of the 1996 batch. Sinha in her new role will head all operations involved in the Srinagar sector. Previously, her service as a CRPF inspector general in the Bihar sector was applauded by the force as she had successfully conducted several anti-Naxal operations in the state.  On Monday, she was appointed as the IG of the Srinagar sector. “When I joined the force, it was difficult in the male-dominated field. Media always wanted to know where I go, whom I meet and so on. It was almost as if I didn’t have a personal life,” she said. “But things gradually changed,” she had told Deccan Chronicle in an interview in 2017.

What You Should Know

• Charu Sinha became the first female IPS officer appointed in Srinagar sector.
• Sinha is a 1996 batch Telangana cadre IPS officer who previously served in the Bihar sector.
• Sinha’s appointment is seen as women officers taking a lead in one of the major law-and-order challenges faced by the country.

The working officers of the paramilitary force in the Srinagar sector are involved in anti-terror operations and they closely work with the Indian Army along with Jammu and Kashmir police. But the sector never had a female officer at the IG level, until now.

For the first time, a female IPS officer has been appointed as Inspector General (IG) of Central Reserve Police Force @crpfindia Srinagar sector, one of the terrorist-affected areas in Jammu and Kashmir.
Congratulations & More power to you #CharuSinha ji.

🙏#NayaBharat pic.twitter.com/ITmhOmhMGT

— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) September 1, 2020

In 2019, during her tenure in the Bihar sector, Sinha also conducted a workshop for the CRPF personnel to shatter gender stereotypes at work, The Print reported. A senior CRPF officer said Sinha’s appointment as the first woman IG in Srinagar signifies “women officers taking a lead in one of the major law-and-order challenges faced by the country”.

Director-General CRPF AP Maheshwari has been heading the Srinagar sector as IG since 2005.

Also Read: Sreedhanya Suresh, Kerala’s First Woman Tribal IAS Officer, Is Now Asst Collector Of Kozhikode

Feature Image Credit: @crpf_srinagar/Twitter

Read More Stories By Ria Das