CRPF Records First Year Without Operational Fatalities in 47 Years

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has completed 12 consecutive months without an operational fatality, marking the first time the force has reached this milestone in 47 years. Director General GP Singh confirmed the period ended on October 30, 2026, noting that the previous zero-fatality record concluded in January 1979. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the achievement, which occurred while the force remained deployed in high-risk areas including Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast, and Manipur.

Director General Singh attributed the success to strategic operational planning, improved training, and contemporary hardware. He specifically highlighted enhanced medical evacuation protocols, including 25 to 30 annual air ambulance sorties to tertiary centers like the AIIMS Trauma Centre in Delhi, which reduced deaths that previously occurred days after an incident. This milestone follows the Government of India declaring the country Maoist-free on March 30, 2026, after the arrest of the last Maoist Central Committee member, Misir Besra.

Despite the operational success, the force faces a crisis of personnel suicides. The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of reports that 19 personnel died by suicide between January and May 2026, following 59 such deaths in 2025—the highest number in five years. The Commission has issued notices to the Union Home Secretary and the CRPF Director General seeking detailed reports on these deaths. Meanwhile, the CRPF is shifting its operational focus toward rising ethnic violence and the Naga-Kuki conflict in Manipur.