DFO case: Bihar slaps POTA on accused

‘‘POTA hasn’t been used in Bihar so far as we never needed to,’’ said IG (Operations) Nilmani. The Centre has declared MCC a terrorist organisation under POTA.

In Jharkhand, POTA has been used against all the arrested MCC and PWG activists. Recently, a stringer for a Hindi daily, Nageshwar Sharma, was arrested under POTA in Palamu.

The Bihar government first resisted the use of POTA. But the day it was passed, the MCC and PWG blew up a railway line in Nawada district. In Bihar, activists had condemned the Centre’s move in putting PWG and MCC in the same category as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Toiba.

Meanwhile, in the DFO case, sources say the CBI is in the process of approaching the high court to get the case transferred back to Sasaram. Under POTA, the investigating agency can keep the accused under remand for 180 days.

The CBI is also investigating why Sanjay Singh was not given security cover in spite of his repeated requests. In their confession, the two MCC men said it was a chance encounter and the squad included four women and seven men.

The agency has announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for squad leader Niraljee and Rs 25,000 for the arrest of others.