The arms seized by the GRP in Muzaffarpur on Thursday. Picture by Prakash Kumar

Patna/Bhagalpur, April 21: Panchayat poll observers today raised questions over police claims of resisting the Naxalites after several incidents of violence were reported on the first day of elections on April 20.

To make things worse, criminals are making efforts to create disturbances during the ongoing elections in Bihar. This was evident from the seizure of a huge cache of unfinished firearms and other equipment from Muzaffarpur on Thursday, ahead of the second phase of election.

Muzaffarpur superintendent of railway police Shiv Kumar Jha said acting on a tip-off, a government railway police (GRP) team picked up a youth, Vikas Mandal, from Muzaffarpur Junction while he was moving in a suspicious manner. The police seized 50 unfinished pistols from his possession. During interrogation Mandal, a resident of Munger, known for manufacturing illegal weapons of different kinds, revealed that he had come to Muzaffarpur from Munger to deliver a consignment of county-made pistols.

The police later conducted a raid at Banku Chhapra village under Mushahari police station of the district and seized 75 unfinished pistols, lathe machine and other equipment used for making firearms from the house of one Anil Singh. He was taken into custody for interrogation.

“Preliminary investigation has revealed that the consignment was to be used for panchayat polls,” the SRP said, adding that the links of the arrested person with the Maoists were also being ascertained.

In another operation, the Muzaffarpur police apprehended six persons, including three arms suppliers from Turki Chhajan Road and Saraiya respectively. Three country-made pistols, three magazines and a few live cartridges were recovered from their possession.

Meanwhile, top-ranking police officers wondered how the Maoists sidetracked the Jamui police during the first phase of panchayat polls yesterday. “We had foolproof security arrangements for yesterday’s polls but we will have to find out the reason of the failure of Jamui police to counter the rebels,” said a top police officer. The officers were not ready to talk to the media about the issue.

A group of 150-200 armed Naxalites on April 20 attacked polling booth number 118 at Lakshmipur primary school in Chakai about half-an-hour before the scheduled closing of the polls. A police patrolling SUV that arrived at the booth was targeted. Assistant sub-inspector Rajendra Jha was shot dead. The home guard personnel somehow managed to save their lives after taking shelter in the nearby village. “The home guards changed their uniforms soon after the attack but the Maoists kept searching for them. They killed a villager Ayesha Khatoon (26),” a villager said.

“The Naxalites continued with their operation for over two hours but not a single policeman arrived at the spot,” another villager pointed out.

“Maoists were moving openly with sophisticated weapons while police were deployed at the polling booths with lathis,” a Chakai villager said. Observers, however, said the police patrolled only the main roads and did not get into the villages to inspect what was going on there. They also blamed that the highly sensitive rural segments of the block, considered as safe Naxalite bastions, were also left without proper security arrangements.

“The Chakai incident was a great reminder to the police not only at Jamui but also in other districts of eastern Bihar where polls are scheduled in next phases. We would strengthen the police to counter such attacks,” a top police officer at Munger division said.