This Article is From Jun 29, 2009

Naxal threat: Bihar police ill-equipped

Naxal threat: Bihar police ill-equipped
Chanan town, Lakhiserai District: The past few months have seen a rise in Maoist attacks in Bihar, especially in the northern parts of the state. Attacks by Naxalites are becoming increasingly daring, with rocket launchers and sophisticated arms being used in attacks. So how prepared is the police in Bihar to deal with this increased Naxal activity?

An abandoned court building in Chanan town, Lakhiserai District is meant to serve as the base for Bihar's fight against Maoists in North Bihar's Lakhiserai district.

From there, policemen are supposed to safeguard an area of about 40 kilometres. All this by just 23 of them who're already battling unhygienic living conditions and lack of infrastructure.

There is no electricity connection, the sole generator given by the Bihar government has broken down and the building is just waiting to collapse.

"What can we do? The administration does nothing," says Ram Pratap Rai, SAF Jawan.

It's not only accommodation that is the problem for these people. The police station's only bullet proof vehicle has been under repair for the past two weeks which means that it has not moved from here.

"We do not have proper arms. We could do with sophisticated guns, rather than the INSAS rifles that we have been issued at the moment. People support the Maoists because they believe that in the times of crisis, we will not be able to help them in any way," said Vashisht Kumar, SAF Jawan.

Last year, Bihar lost 21 policemen in the fight against Maoists. A smaller figure compared to other states. But experts say that's simply because the insurgents have chosen not to focus their offensive on Bihar. When they do, the policemen here could just be sitting ducks.
 
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