Jamui/Bhagalpur: Senior Maoist leaders have publicly vowed to eliminate some policemen in Jamui and Lakhisarai districts, making a mockery of the police claim that rebels were on the back foot in eastern Bihar districts because of tight policing.

The threat from Maoists was pointed out in a recent directive from the state police headquarters to senior police officers, including superintendents of police of Jamui and Lakhisarai districts.

According to sources, six senior Maoist leaders, including Prabesh, alias Sahadeo Soren (commander in-charge of eastern Bihar and south Jharkhand frontier regional committee of CPI-Maoist), Arvind Yadav, Arjun Koda, Baleshwar Koda, Soren Koda, Sree Koda and Renuka (commander in-charge of women brigade) assembled at Musharitard village under the jurisdiction of Barhet police in Jamui on July 3.

"Actually, the rebels assembled to take part in an annual celebration at the Kali temple in the village. They practised some rituals and vowed to eliminate some cops of Jamui and Lakhisarai before the deity," said a source in the village.

"They also warned villagers, who were not only from Musharitard but from other neighbouring villages like Kumartari, Kukurjhap and Barmasia not to talk to the police."

"They asked the villagers of Musharitard along with neighbouring villages like Kumartari, Kukurjhap and Barmasia to come and take part in the annual celebration at the Kali temple. Some Maoists, accompanied by leaders, also forced villagers to swear by the deity that would not speak to police or paramilitary forces. They threatened the villagers with dire consequences if anyone was caught spying for the police," a villager confirmed on condition of anonymity.

Villages like Musharitard are highly inaccessible even for paramilitary forces, making them ideal places for rebel hideouts, said intelligence sources.

The rebels also asked villagers to provide information about movement of police and paramilitary forces to them time to time. According to the sources in the village, the rebels have been trying to take attempts on the lives of the superintendent of police in two districts along with over a dozen station house officers and police officers of the rank of superintendent of police and assistant superintendent of police with paramilitary forces like CRPF, CoBRA and SSB battalions deployed in the region. The letter from the state police headquarters also mentioned incidents as narrated by the villagers. However, the letter didn't specify the names or designations of police officers facing Maoist threat.

Bhagalpur police zone inspector-general of police (IG) Sushil Singh Khopde under whose jurisdiction eastern Bihar districts like Lakhisarai and Jamui fall said police were conducting strategic operations against the rebels in the topographically inaccessible areas. He was taking questions from reporters on Saturday during his weekly press briefing in Bhagalpur.

He said all the concerned SPs and SHOs in eastern Bihar districts had already instructed how to operate in such areas. "Police have been doing the best to counter such problems in the areas," Khopde said.