Muzaffarpur, Jan. 21: Policemen have been asked to take additional care while venturing out in the countryside, especially in the Naxalite-affected pockets in Muzaffarpur.

The state’s special branch, an intelligence wing, sent in a letter to senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sunil Kumar on Wednesday warning the policemen not to move about freely in the villages without verifying the calls.

The Naxalites left everyone shocked after they used Improvised Explosive Device (IeD) and landmine technology to trigger blasts during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

Recently, there have been reports of Maoists in the area training youths and drawing them into their fold. The Maoists, who usually target security forces with manual IeDs have now learnt to use developed remote-controlled IeDs that can be activated from a distance with just the press of a button.

The improvement in firepower is being supported by intensive training on the lines of regular forces, said the intelligence bulletin. The SSP today told The Telegraph he has asked the station house officers (SHOs) of Maoists-hit Minapur, Shivaipatti, Motipur, Baroraj, Saraiya, Paroo, Deoriya, Sakra, Kudhani and other partially affected outposts to verify the information from the villages regarding criminal incidents.

“Think twice before entering the villages and preferably cover the distance on foot,” the SSP told the policemen today in a daylong discussion on the strategies to tackle the menace of the Naxalites calling shots.

Kumar directed the SHOs to keep cell numbers of the sensible people of the villages that have been affected by the presence of the Maoists. They have also been asked to keep tab on them before venturing out into the villages.

Talks confabulated by them with the villagers should be kept secret and readily passed to the senior police officers including the deputy superintendents of police of the areas. The SSP stressed the need for frequent cordon and search operations in the affected villages to keep the Maoists at bay if any of them are hiding in the countryside.

Personnel of Central Reserve Police Force and Bihar Military Police and the State Auxiliary Police should be involved to flush out the Maoists during the cordon and search operation.

Intelligence sleuths have forewarned the cops that the Naxalites were frantically trying to improve and in the recent past gained firepower and have also come out with the deadly claymore mines or what are often called directional IeDs.

Unlike in the past, when IeDs used to be buried beneath the road, culverts, bridges in a small can, the claymore mines, which come with a thick aluminium plate, can be fitted in poles and trees.

The IeD when blasted will deflect in a direction opposite to the plate, thus focusing them to a particular area as against conventional IeDs where the impact is confined to a circular area around the device.