Police put on alert ahead of Maoist bandh

All police stations across Bihar were put on high alert in view of the 48-hour bandh called by the CPI(Maoist) in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal from Monday to protest against the violence at Nandigram. Bihar Director General of Police, Ashish Ranjan Sinha said on Sunday that zonal IGs, DIGs and Superintendents of Police had been asked to maintain extra vigil on the activities of the Maoists.

They have been asked to beef up security around vital Government installations and public places, especially at railway stations and bus depots which could be soft targets of the Naxals during the bandh, said the DGP. Senior police and civil officials on Sunday reviewed the security arrangements, the DGP said adding special auxiliary police and jawans of central para military force were carrying out raids in the areas dominated by the Maoists in south and north Bihar districts, Sinha said. Additional forces had been deployed in the affected districts as a precautionary measure, he added.