Rapid Action Force

RAF was established on 11 December 1991 by the Union Home Ministry with headquarters in New Delhi. It became fully operational on 7 October 1992, to deal with riots, riot-like situations, crowd control, rescue and relief operations, and related unrest. The first five battalions were operationalized by October 1992 and an additional 5 battalions were added in April 1994. On 7 October 2003, with 11 years of service, the force was presented with the President's Colour. In 2017, the Indian government approved an additional five battalions to be based in New Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. ==Organisation==

RAF is commanded by an Inspector-General of Police (IGP), functioning at New Delhi. The RAF is divided into three ranges headed by a Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIGP) in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Dehradun. It has also a specialized training centre "RAPO" (RAF Academy for Public Order) in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh headed by a DIGP. The RAF has a distinctive uniform with a blue-coloured camouflage pattern which symbolizes peace. Its motto is "Serving Humanity with Sensitive Policing". It currently has 15 specialized trained and equipped battalions, which are numbered 83, 91, 97, 99 to 108, 114 and 194 in the CRPF. Each battalion is headed by a Commanding Officer (CO), an officer of the rank of Commandant. A team is the smallest independent functional unit of the force and is commanded by an Inspector. Each team has three components: riot control, tear smoke, and fire. Each company of RAF has one team composed of women personnel to deal with women demonstrators. == Role ==

Riot and crowd control This unit has been used to deal with communal violence, law and order duty, festival and election duties and agitation. RAF was active during the 2002 Swaminarayan Akshardham temple attack in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. During the November 2008 Mumbai Terror Attacks, RAF was involved in cordoning the areas around the Oberoi Trident and the Taj Mahal hotels. ==References==