Sanjukta Parashar, a 2006-batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has been appointed Inspector General (IG) of the CRPF’s elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA). She is the first woman officer to hold the post.The CRPF headquarters issued her appointment order last week, announcing that she would replace Danesh Rana, a 1996-batch IPS officer of AGMUT cadre .Parashar will head CoBRA, the CRPF’s specialised jungle warfare commando unit. The CRPF had formed CoBRA in 2008-09 to tackle Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in several states.The unit was also tasked with tackling insurgency in some Northeastern states. The CRPF has recently deployed two CoBRA units in Manipur to prevent the ongoing armed violence there.According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), CoBRA commandos have successfully carried out jungle warfare and guerrilla operations based on intelligence inputs.The ministry said these operations helped in ending Maoist violence in the country. The violence ended in March this year.Parashar has previously worked with the National Investigation Agency (NIA). She has also served in her cadre state of Assam.Meanwhile, the CRPF has also announced the appointment of 2003-batch IPS officer of AGMUT cadre VK Birdi as the new IG of the CRPF’s VIP security wing.Birdi will replace CRPF cadre officer Jattvibeil Joon, who has been posted to the CRPF’s officers’ academy in Gurugram.