No Holi This Year For CRPF, As A Mark Of Respect For Pulwama Martyrs 

Holi will not be officially celebrated amongst the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as a mark of respect to 40 of its jawans who were killed last month in a suicide attack in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir.

CRPF Director-General (DG) RR Bhatnagar, during an event which marks the 80th raising day of the force at its group centre in Gurgaon, said that the influence of left-wing extremists or Naxals has been reduced by a whopping 40 per cent and only a few areas in the country are now affected.

Furthermore, he announced that there would be no "official celebrations" amongst the force during the Holi festival on 21 March as a mark of respect to the 40 troops killed in the suicide attack in Pulwama on 14 February.

"In Jammu and Kashmir, tackling terrorism is a challenge. The force neutralised 210 terrorists in operations last year in the Kashmir valley," said the DG, reports India Today.

Furthermore, he said the CRPF was procuring advanced weapons and gadgets including ground penetrating radars, light bulletproof jackets, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), rifles, and signal jammers and gunshot locators in order to equip the troops better for combat.