Patna, Dec. 14: The armoury of the Bihar Military Police's (BMP's) second battalion at Dehri-on-Sone in Rohtas is on the Maoist radar and the police have been urged to deploy an anti-landmine vehicle and more forces.

In a letter to the state police headquarters last week, battalion commandant Parvez Akhtar said around 30 to 40 suspected Maoists were spotted around the armoury on the night of December 3. Security guards deployed at the nearby Sudha dairy plant had also alerted the district police in this regard.

In the letter addressed to the BMP's additional director-general - a copy of which is with The Telegraph - the commandant said the suspected Maoists remained at the spot for over an hour and purportedly did a recce of the area. Had the local police swung into action right away, some of them could have been arrested, the letter said.

A Sudha dairy milk van driver, who spotted about a dozen rebels entering the prohibited area, immediately dialled 100 (emergency service) and passed on the information but no action was taken, exposing police laxity.

The armoury contains weapons belonging to the BMP, women's battalion, home guards, government railway police, national cadet corps and newly appointed constables undergoing training at the camp. The BMP's second battalion premises are also used as training centre for new recruits.

A senior IPS officer, who was earlier Rohtas superintendent of police (SP), said they had received similar intelligence inputs about congregation of armed Maoists in 2010. But the Maoists did not succeed in their plan then as security around the armoury was beefed up accordingly, he said.

Battalion commandant Akhtar had submitted estimates of expenses on permanent fencing of the armoury to the executive engineer of the Bihar Police Building Construction Corporation on March 9, 2015 and September 1, 2016, but there was no progress on that front.

"Since it is a sensitive issue related to the armoury's security, it would not be prudent to share information with the media," commandant Akhtar said when asked about details today. But he confirmed he had discussed the issue with Rohtas SP Manavjeet Singh Dhillon.

The commandant has requested Dhillon to ensure deployment of one anti-landmine vehicle and additional security forces on the southern end of the Sone river on a daily basis to check any untoward incident.

In addition, the commandant has stressed the need to provide house guards at the official residences of the DIG and other senior police officials. Rohtas is among the 21 worst-hit Maoist affected districts in the state.