Dr Sanjukta Parashar, a 2006-batch Indian Police Service officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre widely known as the “Iron Lady of Assam,” has assumed charge as Inspector General of the Central Reserve Police Force’s elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA). She is the first woman officer to command the specialised jungle-warfare force.
The CRPF headquarters issued the order last week. Parashar succeeds 1996-batch IPS officer Danesh Rana. A senior officer told PTI that this is the first time the ten-battalion CoBRA force will be headed by a woman.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier appointed her as Inspector General in the CRPF on central deputation, with orders issued on 6 August 2026. She has now taken operational charge of CoBRA.
About CoBRA
CoBRA, or Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, was raised by the CRPF in 2008–09 to conduct intelligence-based jungle and guerrilla warfare against Left Wing Extremism in several states and against insurgency in parts of the Northeast. Its commandos are trained for long-range operations in dense forests, ambushes and counter-ambushes, IED threats, and precision action against armed militants. The unit has operated extensively in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Maharashtra. Two CoBRA units were recently deployed in Manipur to check armed violence. The Ministry of Home Affairs has credited CoBRA commandos with operations that contributed to the end of Maoist violence in the country in March 2026.
Career and background
Born on 3 October 1979 in Assam, Parashar studied Political Science at Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi, and later completed a Master’s degree, MPhil and PhD in International Relations and American foreign policy at Jawaharlal Nehru University. She secured All India Rank 85 in the 2005 UPSC Civil Services Examination and chose the IPS over the IAS. She joined the service on 29 August 2006 and became the first Assamese woman IPS officer posted directly in Assam under the cadre.
Her early postings included Makum and Udalguri, where she handled ethnic clashes. As Superintendent of Police in Sonitpur, she led 16 major encounter operations in 15 months, in which 16 militants were killed and 64 arrested. She frequently accompanied personnel into forest terrain, including operations involving Assam Police commandos and CoBRA troops. These field assignments earned her the popular title “Iron Lady of Assam.” She later served as Deputy Inspector General in the National Investigation Agency, handling national-security and counter-terrorism investigations.
She has received the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service, the Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Police Training (2022), and the Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang Award.
Significance of the appointment
The posting combines Parashar’s operational experience in Assam’s insurgency-affected forests with her investigative work at the NIA. For a force whose core tasks include jungle warfare, intelligence-led operations and adaptation in hostile terrain, that combination is regarded as directly relevant. The appointment is also viewed as a milestone for women officers in operational command of India’s paramilitary forces.
Parashar now leads one of the CRPF’s most demanding specialised units at a time when CoBRA continues to be employed in remaining Left Wing Extremism pockets and in sensitive internal-security theatres such as Manipur.
