Amit Shah to lay foundation of RAF camp in Shivamogga today

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will lay the foundation stone of a new battalion campus of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) in Shivamogga district on Saturday, officials said.

The home minister is expected to be accompanied by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurrapa, who is the MLA from the Shikaripura constituency in Shivamogga district. The Karanataka government has provided a 50.29-acre land for the headquarters of the 97th battalion of the RAF, the blue dungaree wearing special anti-riots wing of the Central Reserve Police Force. "Once this campus is built, it will have a hospital, a Kendriya Vidyalaya, family quarters for troops, administrative building, family welfare centre, sports facilities including a stadium and swimming pool. A total of 1,270 troops of the newly raised 97th RAF battalion, including 106 women personnel, will be based here," a senior officer told PTI.

The battalion will have a jurisdiction over a number of districts in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and Puducherry for deployment by the Centre to deal with any communal incidents, protests, riots or events that involves huge congregations, he said. The over-an-hour event is expected to begin around 1 p.m.and senior officials of the paramilitary force led by its Director General A P Maheshwari will be present. The RAF was raised in 1992 under the CRPF and has a total of 15 battalions based in various parts of the country. Five of its battalions were sanctioned by the Union home ministry in 2018. The CRPF is the country's largest central armed police force with about 3.25 lakh personnel in its ranks and is designated as the lead internal security force. PTI