Bettiah: Armed criminals barged into several houses in Agarwa area of Motihari, around 2km from the venue of the Prime Minister's April 10 rally, and injured seven people, including women and children, late on Friday evening.

The armed men also fired three rounds in the air while fleeing. They fled only after residents gathered and challenged them. Two bikes and three cars were also damaged by the attackers, the police said.

Confirming the incident, Motihari police station officer-in-charge Anand Kumar said three persons had been picked up for interrogation.

In another incident, criminals roughed up a Grade IV employee, Prashant Choudhary, on Friday evening near Baluwa Chowk, a short distance from the PM's rally venue. "Prima facie, loot was the primary motive behind the two incidents," said Anand Kumar. Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the town, a Special Protection Group (SPG) team on Saturday held a meeting with the government department in Motihari and reviewed the state of affairs.

"The SPG, led by an IG-rank officer, also joined us today (Saturday) for security arrangements made for Prime Minister. The SPG team held a meeting with different departments, namely public works department and health among others, to ensure that the PM's visit goes off without any hitch," said Motihari district magistrate Raman Kumar.

As part of the security arrangements, the district administration is routinely searching hotels, guesthouses and a few private premises in sensitive areas of the town. "The checking of vehicles entering from neighbouring districts and Nepal or exiting from the district have been intensified by installing dropgates at places," said Raman Kumar.

Areas bordering Nepal will remain sealed on April 10, stalling the movement of vehicles. "The anti-terrorist squad (ATS) has formed 24 teams, which will conduct anti-sabotage operations for three days in and around Motihari till April 10," said a source.