Bihar government's apparent reluctance to associate with anti-terror operations in the run-up to 2014 elections has come back to haunt it in the form of Gandhi Maidan blasts where it was caught napping. Even as the incident exposed security lapses at the rally venue, sources pointed to the Bihar government's overall attitude to security which has been found to be wanting.
Allegedly wary of stirring the terror pot ahead of 2014 elections, CM Nitish Kumar's government had in August refused to take custody of IM operative Ahmed Siddibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal even though Bihar Police played a significant role in his arrest from Nepal. Yasin was tracked by Intelligence Bureau to Pokhara and then arrested by a joint team of IB and Bihar Police.
However, after he was brought to Raxaul in Bihar, the state police refused to take his custody saying it had no cases against him. Ultimately, the central security set-up had to make a last minute call to National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the case.
Bihar's refusal to take Yasin's custody was intriguing as one of the most ferocious modules of Indian Mujahideen was raised by him in Darbhanga and Madhubani and several members of this module are still absconding. IM is also a suspect in the Bodh Gaya blasts.
Sources said apart from Bihar appearing to be dragging its feet on the security front, there were some deeply entrenched systemic problems with Bihar's security set-up. During the previous regime in the state, law and order suffered to such an extent that it had a debilitating impact on the police force which despite some good successes in Kumar's regime, will take time to be a fully functional and competent entity, sources said.
They added the fact that Bihar hadn't experienced a bomb blast in several years (except for the recent Bodh Gaya blasts) also added to the lack of preparedness and experience of the police force to deal with terror attacks.
Allegedly wary of stirring the terror pot ahead of 2014 elections, CM Nitish Kumar's government had in August refused to take custody of IM operative Ahmed Siddibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal even though Bihar Police played a significant role in his arrest from Nepal. Yasin was tracked by Intelligence Bureau to Pokhara and then arrested by a joint team of IB and Bihar Police.
However, after he was brought to Raxaul in Bihar, the state police refused to take his custody saying it had no cases against him. Ultimately, the central security set-up had to make a last minute call to National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the case.
Bihar's refusal to take Yasin's custody was intriguing as one of the most ferocious modules of Indian Mujahideen was raised by him in Darbhanga and Madhubani and several members of this module are still absconding. IM is also a suspect in the Bodh Gaya blasts.
Sources said apart from Bihar appearing to be dragging its feet on the security front, there were some deeply entrenched systemic problems with Bihar's security set-up. During the previous regime in the state, law and order suffered to such an extent that it had a debilitating impact on the police force which despite some good successes in Kumar's regime, will take time to be a fully functional and competent entity, sources said.
They added the fact that Bihar hadn't experienced a bomb blast in several years (except for the recent Bodh Gaya blasts) also added to the lack of preparedness and experience of the police force to deal with terror attacks.
Source: TOI
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