Jamui/Munger/Banka, March 31: Maoists have now started sending text messages to voters in rural areas of eastern Bihar districts, bordering Jharkhand, requesting them not to vote in elections.
An intelligence report has mentioned that the rebels have started utilising high-end technologies and also guerrilla techniques to intensify its war against the state before and during the Lok Sabha election.
For the first time, the outfits have started utilising the bulk SMS mode to ask voters not to go to the booths on poll days. The bulk texts were released from Abinash, the spokesperson of CPI(Maoist) frontal zonal committee.
In the texts, the rebels have also appealed the voters not to move on the roads on the polling days. They also appealed all its committees, sub-committees and the units of People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) to target the security forces in large scale in their respective areas, an intelligence officer said in Jamui.
Last week, the rebels put up poll boycott posters in several places in Jamui and Lakhisarai (comes under Munger Lok Sabha seat).
Jitendra Kumar, inspector-general of police (Bhagalpur), said if the rebels have started utilising high technologies, police are enough competent to destroy their plans and programmes. He added that the police had started investigation into the bulk SMS texts and taking such cellphone handsets under scanner from where such texts were coming. Police in the districts concerned have been taking care of the top-ranking leaders in poll campaigning in the rural areas after it was came to light that the rebels have made the candidates as soft targets.
“Yesterday, a rumour was spread from Jhajha that the rebels may target the road show of JD(U) and also the LJP-BJP candidates. But we have taken immediate actions and started massive combing operations. We have also instructed all the candidates and the political parties to give us prior information of their movements or the arrival of top-ranking leaders so that in advance we could take up security arrangements,” said Jitendra Rana, superintendent of police, Jamui.
Special instructions were given to Munger and Banka police where polls are scheduled on April 17 and April 24, respectively. Special operations are going on in the two districts, said top-ranking police officers.
The eastern Bihar districts are already on the Maoist radar for unleashing violence during the elections as put by several intelligence reports in the past few weeks. The police have also put up a security ring around key candidates in vulnerable areas.
