Patna,
March 31 (IANS) At least six police personnel
were injured Saturday when over 200 suspected
Maoist militants attacked a police station and
a bank in Bihar's Sitamarhi district.
Armed
with sophisticated weapons and dressed in olive
green military uniform, the rebels carried out
the attack in Riga block, about 300 km from here,
to loot arms and ammunition from the police station
and cash from the Central Bank, police said.
|
|
The
Maoists blasted the Manihari bridge connecting Riga
block near the India-Nepal border.
The
rebels fled when the police returned the fire and local
people came out shouting slogans against the Maoists.
They, however, failed to take any arms or cash, police
said.
The
Sitamarhi district Superintendent of Police A.R. Nayak
said that the rebel attack was foiled by timely police
action and no casualty was reported barring injury to
a some police officials.
However,
the top brass of the state administration is worried
about the attack in Riga block as it is close to the
Nepal border. It was the first such Maoist attack in
Sitamarhi district, which is regarded as a sensitive
spot and vulnerable to Maoist activities.
State
Home Secretary Afzal Amanullah told newspersons that
the government was awaiting detailed reports of the
incident and admitted that the attack was a failure
on the part of state intelligence.