India, July 17 -- Two specialised CRPF CoBRA battalions had received training in gender sensitisation and managing women protesters before their May deployment to Manipur, where women blocking roads to impede army and security-force movements has become common in the Kuki-Meitei and Kuki-Naga conflicts, officials familiar with the matter said.

The two CoBRA battalions trained in guerrilla warfare and deployed exclusively in anti-Naxal operations until now, were moved to Manipur in May 2026 for counter-insurgency duties after the government declared India free of Naxalism on March 31. This is the first time that CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) units have been deployed outside the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) theatre. Officials...