Patna, July 21: An alert has been sounded across Bihar in the wake of the 24-hour bandh call by the banned CPI(Maoist), beginning this midnight.
The Maoists have given a call for bandh in five states — Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and Chhattisgarh — to protest the rise in prices of essential commodities and petroleum products.
“All police stations have been put on a maximum alert to thwart any attempt by the Maoist rebels to disturb peace,” Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) Neelmani said.
He said patrolling has been intensified in vulnerable pockets in Patna, Gaya, Jehanabad, Nawada, Aurangabad, Kaimur, Rohtas, Banka, Munger, Lakhisarai and Jamui districts.
Patrolling of railway tracks, the often soft target of Naxalite attacks, has been heightened.
–PTI