Border Security
Force (BSF) Director General Daljit Singh Chaudhary during the send-off
ceremony of 18th BSF contingent as Indian Formed Police Unit-2 to Congo, in New
Delhi, Monday, June 2, 2025. (PTI Photo)
NEW DELHI — A 160-member Border Security Force (BSF) contingent, comprising 25
women personnel, was on Monday flagged off for deployment with the UN
peacekeeping mission in Congo, an African nation ravaged by armed conflict and
mass displacement.
BSF director general (DG) Daljit Singh Chawdhary and
other senior officers met the team at the headquarters of the force here on
Lodhi Road. The DG asked them to ensure that the flags of India and the force
are held high.
"Your conduct and turnout should be exemplary. You
have been trained for the task, and I am sure you will ensure that the flag of
the country and the force is held aloft," Chawdhary said.
The action of the force during the recent Operation
Sindoor has earned the BSF a "unique" recognition, and you should aim
to lead by example, he told the personnel.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the third largest
country in Africa, bordering Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Congo has been placed
under the United Nations due to internal disturbances.
This 18th BSF contingent, led by Commandant Kailash Singh
Mehta, will join the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) located at Beni in that country, a
BSF spokesperson said.
The 160-member team has seven officers, nine subordinate
officers and 144 other personnel, including a woman medical officer and 24
female constables, he said.
"The contingent will be replacing the 17th BSF
contingent, which until now was deployed in Beni and is returning on June
4," he said.
The
team underwent an 11-week-long pre-deployment training, including subjects like
UN peacekeeping guidelines, standard operating procedures and policies, public
order management, human rights and sexual and gender-based violence, and VIP
security protection of civilians, the spokesperson said.