Gaya, Aug. 29 :     The Ranbir Sena, a private militia of the upper caste landlords in Bihar, is shopping for sophisticated arms to match Naxalite firepower. Young Sena cadres, who are being trained by ex-Armymen, are not happy with the stockpile of conventional weapons at the outfit?s disposal. According to them, it is ?too archaic to combat the police and the rival MCC and People?s War.?? Sources said the outfit has been in touch with its agents in the US and Sri Lanka for supply of upgraded stock. Intelligence reports said the organisation, which was on a massive fund-raising drive recently from rich Bhumihar farmers in central and north Bihar, is keen on procuring Kalashnikovs or A-K 47 from abroad. Police officers interrogating arrested Sena men have extracted vital information regarding the outfit?s existing firepower and the weapons used in the massacres of December 1998 and January-March 1999. Manish Kumar, a Sena cadre from Fatehpur village and Sipahi Sharma from Turi village under Belagunge police station in Gaya district, arrested recently, confirmed that a number of retired Army personnel were involved in training cadres for the action squad. Both Kumar and Sharma confessed that local Armymen on leave had taken part in the Khagri Bigha massacre in the district. Sharma, who joined the outfit six months ago, said the organisation was run at the district-level by a commander, manning a 21-member corp. Sharma said he was given intensive arms and combat training by ex-servicemen before he was inducted as a full-time cadre. Each Sena commandant is aided by a Press secretary, who distributes statements on behalf of the organisation to the media. Chunnu Sharma, one such Press secretary, was working in their area before Khagari Bigha operation. Both Kumar and Sharma, in their statements told the police, that the most sophisticated weapon they possessed was a stengun and it was usually handled by one Gautam Sharma during operations. Other weapons used by the Sena during the Narayanpur and Khagari Bigha-Jahis Bigha massacres in April? 96 were self-loading rifles (SLR), .315 bore rifle, regular rifles, .306 rifle and crude bombs. The arrested cadres said the .306 rifles were usually handled by two members, who were previously with the Border Security Force (BSF). Intelligence sources said the Sena realised the need for upgradation of arms after the Khagari Bigha operation in which the outfit was unable to withstand police fire and beat a hasty retreat. The aborted bid to blow up a backward village was a major blow to the outfit?s morale. While the Naxalite organisations mine the roads leading to the police stations to prevent police intervention, the Sena usually posts a small picket a few km from the site of the massacre to fend off the police. In Khagari Bigha, the Sena had to disperse after securitymen mounted attack. They could not even retaliate. Sena chief, Bramheswar Mishra, was quoted as saying that just physical training of cadres was not enough for effective combat. Cadres apprehend that central Bihar will witness the bloodiest of clashes between the Sena and the Naxalites in the next season. Superintendent of police, Gaya, Anil Palta, said a detailed report on the Army personnel, who had participated in Khagari Bigha massacre, has been despatched to the Army headquarters.