CRPF pulls first full battalion out of Sukma for Manipur; more may follow

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has pulled a full battalion of more than 1,000 personnel out of Chhattisgarh's former Maoist heartland and ordered it to Manipur. It is the first time any central armed police unit has been completely withdrawn from the anti-Naxal theatre since the Centre declared in March 2026 that armed Maoism had ended, officials told the news agency PTI.

The move, reported on Sunday, November 15, by The Hindu and The Times of India citing PTI, adds to a build-up of central forces in Manipur that has gathered pace over the past six weeks. Neither the Ministry of Home Affairs nor the CRPF has issued a public statement, and officials have not said where in Manipur the unit will be posted.

What has been ordered

According to the PTI report carried by The Hindu, the unit is a general duty battalion that was based in Sukma district in south Bastar. After March it had switched from anti-Maoist operations to clearing mines and IEDs from public roads.

"The CRPF headquarters has ordered the de-induction of a general duty battalion from Chhattisgarh and directed it to move to Manipur, where ethnic violence has been simmering for more than three years now," a senior security officer based in Delhi told PTI, as reported by The Hindu. The officer said the force wanted to "bolster" its presence in Manipur.

Until now, only companies (parts of a battalion) had been pulled out, for short spells such as elections or the Amarnath Yatra. Neighbouring CRPF units and the Chhattisgarh Police will take over its posts; a senior Chhattisgarh Police officer told PTI this would leave a "vacuum" in the grid.

The build-up so far: a timeline

The Sukma battalion is the latest in a string of reinforcements:

• May-June 2026: Two battalions of CoBRA, the CRPF's jungle warfare unit, were deployed in Manipur - its first use outside anti-Maoist operations since 2008, Hindustan Times reported.
• July 2026: After an Assam Rifles camp in Senapati was targeted, the CRPF ordered its troops in Manipur to move only in bulletproof vehicles and sent about 100 such vehicles. Officials then put the deployment at around 320 CAPF companies, excluding the Assam Rifles (The Indian Express, ThePrint).
• October 30: NEInsider reported that 30 more CRPF companies, plus a company each of CoBRA and the Rapid Action Force, were being sent. The same day, the 205 CoBRA battalion from Gaya and five ITBP companies were ordered in, with advance teams in Jiribam to secure NH-37.
• November 10: Hindustan Times reported that the Centre had approved one more CoBRA battalion for Manipur and that the state had asked for two. "One battalion, of around 1,000 personnel, should come soon," an official told the paper.
• November 15: The Sukma general duty battalion was ordered to Manipur.

Accounts differ on whether 205 CoBRA was the third CoBRA battalion (ThePrint) or a third is still to come (Hindustan Times). The Sukma unit is a regular CRPF battalion, not CoBRA.

What it means on the ground

About 1,000 more personnel is a modest addition to a force that The Times of India on November 14 put at more than 300 companies of five central forces (Assam Rifles, CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB), plus the Army and the state police.

The reinforcement comes at a time when the presence of central forces is itself being questioned. After four Naga civilians were killed in an ambush at New Heaven on the Imphal-Ukhrul road on November 13 (our report), the Tangkhul Naga Long said it had "lost complete faith in the central security forces" and demanded that those deployed on that stretch be withdrawn, The Times of India reported. Naga MLA Ram Muivah wrote to the Chief Minister that nine people had been killed in nine months on a stretch of less than 15 km, and that more than 100 Ukhrul police personnel and over 800 Manipur Rifles personnel were posted outside the district.

Officials told PTI that units in Manipur already face accommodation and logistics problems, and directions have been issued to prepare for the new battalion.

What happens next

• Around November 17: The Tangkhul Naga Long's three-day ultimatum, which includes the demand to pull central forces off the New Heaven stretch, runs out.
• November 25: Deadline for vendors to respond to the CRPF's loitering munitions request, which Hindustan Times linked to CoBRA operations in Manipur.
• Pending: The Delhi officer told PTI there is a proposal to withdraw "at least three more" battalions from Chhattisgarh and Odisha, for Manipur and for the Pakistan and Bangladesh borders. Hindustan Times reported a third CoBRA battalion is also due.
• 2027: All of this comes as the Centre prepares for Manipur Assembly polls due in 2027, while the Kuki-Zo Suspension of Operations pact remains unrenewed.

We will update this story when the MHA or CRPF confirms where the battalion is posted.