Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has complemented the Special Auxiliary Force (SAP), comprising former Army men, and the police for repulsing the Maoist attack at Sitamari yesterday.
Bihar was the first state to have formed SAP, a model which was reportedly appreciated by the union home ministry. Sources say the state government, in coordination with the Shasastra Seema Bal, has already stepped up vigil along the porous Indo-Nepal border, covering districts of north Bihar, in the wake of the armed Maoist attack at Riga in Sitamari, which claimed the life of an SAP jawan and injured six others. Riga is just 4 km away from the Indo-Nepal border.
The authorities are reportedly working to create a special intelligence wing to deal with the Maoists.
Over 400 armed Maoist rebels blew up a road bridge, attacked a police station and a block office at Riga in a bid to loot a nationalised bank, but the police successfully repulsed the attack.
All entry and exit points of Sitamari district have been sealed and raids are being conducted to apprehend Maoists. The authorities have also sealed the Indo-Nepal border in Sitamarhi district and SSB jawans are conducting combing operations.
Source- http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070402/nation.htm#7
