Set up to guard passengers and goods on trains in critical rail sectors of India, the Commandos for Railway Safety (CORAS) will be deployed in Naxal-prone belts, Jammu and Kashmir and North East states like Tripura and Manipur, after its launch on Wednesday, a senior official said. Railway Minister, Piyush Goyal, and MoS Railways, Suresh C Angadi, will launch CORAS in New Delhi.
Soon after its launch, the CORAS will be deployed in critical and sensitive areas of the country, Director General, Railways Protection Force (RPF), Arun Kumar said. In order to deal with security challenges faced by critical urban centres, the apex body of all zonal railways, the Railway Board, had issued directives to all its 18 zones calling for the formation of the commando unit, CORAS.
Comprising the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) personnel, the CORAS is headed by the Director General of the RPF and is armed with special uniforms with bullet-proof jackets, helmets and sophisticated weapons, officials said.
Kumar said there are 14 battalions of RPSF and one of its battalions has been converted into CORAS.
The men of CORAS have been trained in the NSG academy and Greyhounds, he said.
Greyhounds specializes in anti-insurgency operations against Naxalites. CORAS commandos will be undergoing training programmes including basic and advanced commando courses with specialisation in handling landmines and improvised explosive devices, hostage rescue, sniping and breaching.
