The arrested Maoists in police custody in Sasaram on Sunday. Picture by Sanjay Choudhary

Patna, June 24: The Centre has asked Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) to intensify vigil on the India-Nepal border to foil any possible infiltration by Nepalese Maoists following a split in their ranks.

All outposts on the 725-km porous international border passing through the state have been put on alert and SSB personnel have been told to keep a close watch on the movement of the Nepalese rebels. They have also been asked to co-ordinate with the district police to thwart any attempt of Maoists to sneak into Bihar from Nepal.

“An alert has been sounded in the wake of intelligence inputs that Maoists operating in Nepal may enter India following disturbances in the Himalayan country. So instructions have been issued to keep a close surveillance on trans-border activities,” said SSB inspector-general (IG) Aditya Mishra.

“It is a difficult task for the central force assigned to guard the porous border to ascertain the identity of Maoists of Nepal,” he said, adding that all preventive steps were being taken to stop cross-border movement of the rebels.

He said senior officials were monitoring developments in the neighbouring country. “We have to be prepared to stop the exodus of rebels from Nepal,” the IG said and added that night patrolling has also been intensified in the wake of developments. Orders have been given to frisk the visitors on a priority basis, he added.

A total of nine SSB battalions have been deployed at 192 border outposts in Bihar to check infiltration and anti-national activities.

Two companies of women personnel have also joined the force to frisk women involved in smuggling and other illegal activities on the border.

Mishra, who recently visited Bairgania in Sitamarhi district to take stock of the situation arising out of firing on a group of residents, said efforts were on to maintain harmony between the security personnel and the residents. “We have decided to take up a lot of people welfare programmes in the area in the near future,” he told The Telegraph.

SSB deputy inspector-general of police Deepak Kumar said while 162 border outposts fall under Patna frontier headquarters, the remaining outposts come under Siliguri headquarters of the force. “There is a proposal to increase the number of border outposts on the India-Nepal border. But this will only be done after the personnel, who are undergoing training, join the force,” he added. The home ministry has allotted 11 SSB battalions to guard the international border in Bihar. While nine battalions have been deployed on the border, one battalion each has been kept in reserve at the frontier headquarters in Patna for training, sources said.

Rebels in net

Two top Maoist leaders, Vijay Kumar Arya and Varanasi Subramanian, were taken to Andhra Pradesh on Sunday to face cases of Naxalite violence pending against them. The duo were earlier brought to Patna from Bhagalpur Special Central Jail under tight security arrangements.

In the evening, they were flown to Andhra Pradesh via Calcutta. The governments of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar had announced rewards of Rs 12 lakh and Rs 3 lakh for the arrest of Subramanian and Arya respectively.