Patna, Feb. 16: Bihar Military Police (BMP) inspector-general Amrendra Kumar Ambedkar’s competence in office was missing at the shooting range of the force’s second battalion in Dehri-on-Sone, around 160km southwest of the state capital.

The 1992-batch IPS officer could score only six points at the five-day Sachidanand Akhauri inter-police shooting competition that concluded today. He failed to hit the target with the licensed pistol allotted to him by the department and was declared the lowest scorer among the IPS officers who participated in the competition.

The officer’s senior and additional director-general (BMP) Abhay Kumar Upadhyay, however, performed better. The 1984-batch IPS officer scored 45 points, hitting almost half the targets with his pistol. Upadhyay also tested his ability, hitting the bullseye with a Sten gun. He aggregated 26 points. On the other hand, additional inspector-general (BMP) Jitendra Mishra could score only 15.

Earlier, Jitendra Rana, the commandant of 5th battalion of the BMP stationed in Patna, was declared the top scorer among the IPS officers with 115 points. Vivek Kumar Singh, the commandant of 16th battalion of the force stationed in Dumraon, finished second with 108 points, followed by Mohammed Rehman (98), the commandant of the women battalion.

Intermittent rains played spoilsport because the range was submerged. As a result, director-general of police Abhayanand could not participate in the shooting on the concluding day. “We were eager to see the shooting skill of the state police chief. But incessant rains poured water on our hope,” said an officer posted in Rohtas district.

He added that Abhayanand, known for introducing novel methods of policing in the state, has “emotional attachment” with Rohtas where he had earlier served as the additional superintendent of police. Abhayanand said: “I wanted to take part in the shooting, but the event could not be continued for long because of the rain. We had to wrap up the event early”A senior IPS officer said: “Uniformed servicemen are supposed to be well versed in shooting and handling the firearms till he is in the service. The officers from the superintendent of police to the director-general of police ranks are allotted the fire-arms. They are duty bound to handle these, if needed.”

Around 500 policemen attached to various battalions of the BMP took part in the competition. The sixth battalion of the BMP stationed in Muzaffarpur was declared the overall champion with 1,283 points in four heads — shooting with pistol, rifle, Sten gun and light machine gun. The second battalion in Dehri-on-Sone ran-ked second (1,227), while Katihar-based seventh battalion stood third (1,168).