New Delhi: The Border Security Force (BSF), India's frontier force for Pakistan and Bangladesh, has commissioned over 9,500 personnel in the first three-and-a-half months of this year to bolster its manpower, official data said. These personnel, largely in the entry rank of constable, are being gradually deployed at border posts along Pakistan and Bangladesh and for internal security duties in the hinterland that includes undertaking armed combat against Left Wing Extremists (LWE), a senior officer told the media.
Out of the total 9,550 troops commissioned into the force between January 1-April 13, about 1,700 are women personnel, the data said. These personnel, in the age group of 20-25, were recruited in the middle of last year and have been imparted a 44-week basic training in various subjects like weapon handling and firing, map reading, disaster management, border management, human rights, basic laws governing security operations, internal security dimensions and unarmed combat among others, at various training institutions of the force spread across the country.