By IANS,
Patna : The Bihar government Wednesday issued shoot at sight orders against trouble makers and sealed the state’s borders with Nepal to ensure violence free polls in the first phase Thursday, an official said here.
Intelligence reports have warned of poll related violence not only from the Maoists but also from political musclemen and their henchmen.
“Intelligence reports warned of violence by the Maoists and ‘bahubalis’ (political musclemen) during the polls,” an official of the state home department said Wednesday.
Fears of steeped up attacks by the Maoists came true when the rebels attacked a Border Security Force (BSF) camp in Rohtas district early Wednesday.
Though the BSF reported no casualties, police said over half a dozen guerrillas were believed to have been killed in the counter-attack.
Maoists Tuesday also torched the campaign vehicle of Mahabali Singh, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) candidate for the Karakat seat in Aurangabad district. A day earlier, they blasted three school buildings in Gaya and Aurangabad.
Bihar police chief D.N. Gautam said the administration had taken all adequate measures to check the violence during the polls.
He said that 110,000 police personnel, including central paramilitary forces, will be deployed on poll duty in 19,738 booths.
Two Indian Air Force helicopters will also be deployed for aerial surveillance during the polls.
Most Maoist affected areas of the state go to the polls in the first phase. “The government will deploy central paramilitary forces in large numbers to ensure peaceful voting,” an official said.
State Home Secretary Afzal Amanullah said: “The troublemakers found disrupting polls or intimidating voters will be booked and a speedy trial will be conducted. They will also be barred from contesting polls.”
The administration is apprehending violence in Siwan and Nawada constituencies as Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin’s wife Heena Sahab and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) MP Surajbhan Singh’s wife Veena Devi, respectively, are in the fray.
Both Shahabuddin and Singh, known criminal-turned-politicians, have been convicted for murder and have been barred from the polls.
In Nawada, notorious gangster Akhilesh Singh is also in the fray while in Siwan a Communist Party of India-Maoist-Leninist candidate is also contesting.
Gangster-turned-politicians Rama Singh of the LJP is in the fray in Ara constituency while JD-U’s Prabhunath Singh is contesting from Maharajganj constituency.
Both are facing several criminal charges and are known for their muscle power.
The Jehanabad constituency has Surendra Prasad Yadav of the RJD and Jagdish Sharma of the JD-U slugging it out.
Security has also been tightened in Saran, Sasaram and Karakat constituencies.
In Saran, RJD chief Lalu Prasad is contesting against Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Rajiv Pratap Rudy. In Sasaram, union minister Meira Kumar is in the fray and in Karakat another central minister Kanti Singh is contesting.