State to have women's battalion

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala will soon have a Women's battalion with headquarters at either Kannur or Thiruvananthapuram.

The decision in this regard was taken at the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Wednesday.

Twenty women police havildars, 380 constables, and 10 technical personnel are among those who will be part of battalion, the Chief Minister said in a Facebook post today.

The decision was taken to increase the strength of women police personnel by 15 per cent in the police force in phases, he said.

In another decision, government also decided to appoint 74 sportspersons as havildars in the Armed battalion.