PATNA, 16 November 2005 — Bihar Governor Buta Singh yesterday suspended the district Police Chief, Superintendent Sunil Kumar Singh, for the delay in action taken by the Jehanabad Police administration and dereliction of duty.
The SP was suspended because he failed to act after getting a tip of a possible attack. “The district police had the prior information of the naxals’ plan but they failed to take action on time,” Bihar governor said.
Bihar Home Secretary H.C. Sirohi said B.S. Meena, the police chief of Rohtas district, will be the new SP of Jehanabad. Sirohi said IG (Operations) R.R. Verma had at 3 p.m.(IST) on Sunday informed IG (central zone) A.S. Nimbran and SP Jehanabad about a possible attack by the extremists. But it seems that no action was taken, he said.
Meanwhile, upset with the Bihar administration for failing to repulse the Maoist attack in Jehanabad, the Union Home Ministry asked the state to inquire why intelligence warning of an attack was not acted upon.
The Ministry is keen to find out why Ajay Kanu, CPI (Maoist) area commander and a central committee member who was among those freed during the raid, was shifted to Jehanabad from Beur Jail a few weeks ago. The Bihar administration has been asked to explain who authorized the shift and why.
Home Secretary V.K. Duggal said that there was prior intelligence about a possible attack. He said the immediate priority was to arrest those who carried out the raid and those who fled.
While announcing an administrative inquiry into the incident by a two-member panel including secretary-cum-commissioner of Water Resources department V. Jaishanker and IG (Railways) A.C. Verma, Sirohi said it would also look into the administrative failure leading to the attack
However, all efforts by the security forces to catch the Maoists have so far failed. Meanwhile, the Maoists have started killing the people they had abducted. Police yesterday recovered nine bodies.
Six companies of central paramilitary forces and two Indian Air Force helicopters will reach Jehanabad to assist in the combing operations.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people including Ranvir Sena sympathizers took to streets in Jehanabad, observing a “spontaneous” bandh (strike) against the daring naxalite attack even as no arrests have been made a day after the incident.
Hundreds of supporters of Ranvir Sena, a private militia of upper caste landowners at loggerheads with naxalites, shouted slogans, blocked roads and staged demonstrations in front of the district jail, that was stormed by the Maoist guerrillas on Sunday night. Yesterday, an encounter took place between the police and the Naxalites in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district, police sources said.
