Patna: Police have launched a special drive against gangs operating in Bihta, 40 km west of Patna, where rising crime has become a cause for concern.

The drive will classify known criminals into three categories - hardcore, active and inactive - based on the intensity of the crimes.

"Four senior officers including Patna city SP (West) Ravindra Kumar, additional superintendent of police (ASP) Rakesh Dubey and the DSPs of Danapur and Paliganj have been asked to camp at Bihta area and launch operation against criminals," said Patna range deputy inspector-general (DIG) Rajesh Kumar. "All senior police officers will be asked to remain stationed at Bihta till further orders. These senior officers will be assisted by 60 commandos."

More than 100 specially deployed police personnel, along with regular police personnel from Bihta, Paliganj and Naubatpur, will carry out operations against criminals, sources said.

Bihta is a fast developing suburb of Patna. It is home to several educational institutions including IIT Patna, and factories. The NIT Patna campus is also coming up at Bihta, as are several real estate projects. This growth has led to a mushrooming of criminal gangs who specialise in extortion.

Several traders of the area have received extortion demands in the last 15 days, police sources said, sparking panic. In September last year, Nirbhay Singh, the owner of Uday Chitra Mandir, was shot dead. In December last year, traders of Bihta had downed shutters after criminals fired at Rajiv Bharti, owner of Keshri Medical Agency.

The traders, who alleged a breakdown of law and order in the area, had demanded setting up of a police picket at Bihta Bazar, gun licences for traders, and immediate arrest of criminals.

They had even threatened to return their GST licences if their demands were not met.

Jitendra Singh, a local trader, said: "Though the police had set up the picket, most of time it has insufficient number of police personnel. Only one or two police personnel are present at any time."