Dimapur, July 27: More than 600 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were airlifted from Dimapur Airport to New Delhi on Saturday in a major Indian Air Force (IAF) operation involving a C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport aircraft and a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft.
According to sources, the CRPF personnel had been deployed in the Northeast during the Manipur crisis and were being redeployed to the national capital. While sources indicated that the movement was linked to the ongoing protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, there has been no official confirmation regarding the purpose of the deployment.
The C-17 Globemaster III, one of the IAF’s largest strategic airlifters, is capable of transporting large numbers of troops, heavy military equipment and humanitarian relief supplies over long distances.
Sources also said an Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter operated from Dimapur on the same day, carrying out six sorties as part of relief operations for landslide-affected areas in Longleng district.
The airlift operation reportedly continued through Saturday, with additional CRPF personnel scheduled to be flown from Dimapur to New Delhi.
The military operation also impacted civil aviation services at Dimapur Airport, with at least one commercial flight to Kolkata delayed due to operational priorities.
As of the time of filing this report, no official statement had been issued by the authorities regarding the total number of personnel being redeployed or the duration of the operation.
