Patna, Sept. 12: The intelligence wing of Bihar police would be strengthened and made a separate cadre in the wake of reports of terror outfits gaining ground in some districts in the past few years.

The decision to revamp the unit and make it a separate cadre was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by chief secretary A.K. Sinha on September 4.

A host of senior officers of the home department and the state police headquarters, who were present at the meeting, felt the need to strengthen the intelligence network in the bordering districts of the state, particularly the India-Nepal border.

Sources said the home department has been asked to gather information from the Intelligence Bureau and other central police organisations to prepare a report on strengthening the intelligence cell of the state police.

“If the special branch is made a separate cadre, the process of appointment and posting of officials would undergo a sea change. No officer below the rank of superintendent of police would be posted in the cell,” a senior officer said.

The decision assumes significance in the wake of arrest of Yasin Bhatkal, the co-founder of Indian Mujahideen (IM), a banned terror outfit, from Raxaul on the India-Nepal border in East Champaran.

Bhatkal, the alleged mastermind behind a series of bomb blasts across the country, used to visit Bihar frequently through Nepal, sources said.

Bhatkal had reportedly stayed in Darbhanga for several years and indoctrinated youths belonging to the district, Madhubani and Samastipur to join the Darbhanga module of the IM.