The CRPF camp in Rampur which was attacked early on Tuesday. (PTI)

New Delhi, Jan. 1: The CRPF and the Mayavati government had ignored a specific warning about a possible attack on the Rampur camp, Union home ministry officials said today.

Officers at the Central Reserve Police Force headquarters here, however, said the November 28 advisory was a “general” warning and did not mention Rampur, where a pre-dawn militant attack killed seven jawans today.

Chief minister Mayavati appeared to hint that the central advisory had indeed mentioned the town as she passed the blame to the central force, accusing it of “laxity”.

She said: “Rampur district officials had recently met CRPF officials and asked them to take precautions. The failure, if any, is on their (the central force’s) part.”

The home ministry sources said the Centre’s note had cautioned the Uttar Pradesh government about possible Lashkar-e-Toiba attacks across the state, especially on the Rampur camp, made vulnerable by its location off a national highway.

“An Intelligence Bureau (IB) warning had been conveyed to the state on November 28... soon after the attacks on the courts in Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad (on November 23),” an official said.

Bullet marks on a wall of the CRPF camp after the attack. (PTI)

“However, neither the state nor the CRPF seems to have done much about enhancing the camp’s security.”

A CRPF officer in Delhi said: “It was just a general warning about possible attacks on camps of paramilitary forces. It was not enough to act upon.”

The home ministry sources alleged that security at the camp was “far less than the desired level” even under normal circumstances.

The ministry has sought a report from the state on the attack. Home minister Shivraj Patil said Lucknow had been asked to “take immediate and effective measures to identify and trace the culprits and bring them to book”.

An IB official was worried especially because the paramilitary force had been attacked in the hinterland.

“Such attacks are common in Kashmir or areas affected by Left-wing extremism. Although Uttar Pradesh is a Maoist-affected state, today’s raid was definitely not a Naxalite attack,” he said.

He added: “Probably the personnel had lowered their guard because of the New Year mood. The alert should have been at the highest level on the day because the militants prefer to strike on such days.”

BJP charge

The BJP today repeated the accusation that the Centre’s “soft” attitude had encouraged militants, who had been allowed “free play” on Indian soil.

“The UPA government has neither the will nor the desire or strength to fight terrorism…” party leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.