Patna, Aug. 3: The success of the Special Task Force (STF), which killed eight sharp-shooters of the notorious Anant Singh gang yesterday in a meticulously planned operation, has set the alarm bells ringing among scores of criminals active in different parts of the state.
The impact of yesterday’s STF’s operation has been such that the man on the street is almost shocked to learn that such a force is, in fact, taking on the dreaded names in a state like Bihar, which is known for its law and order problems.
The task force is a wing of the state police with 350-odd men at its disposal. The infant force — it is just four years old — has outscored the achievements of its parent body over several years.
STF deputy inspector-general B.K. Singh, an Andhra Pradesh cadre IPS officer, admitted that the force could spring more such surprises in the days to come.
“Our intelligence network is alive and kicking. Besides, people at the local level in the affected pockets are willing to come forward with information. I do not rule out more such operations in the days to come,” Singh told The Telegraph.
The STF had done a commendable job in cleansing the Siwan region of the state, represented in Parliament by jailed politician Mohammad Shahabuddin, who is facing a number of criminal cases.
Singh said the force is at present in hot pursuit of gangsters in Mokama, Barh, Nalanda, Begusarai, Khagaria and Nawada districts.
“We are trying to sanitise these areas. Our objective is to instil the fear of law in the gangsters and raise the level of people’s confidence. We work under no political pressure and operate on the basis of the people’s trust in our boys,” he pointed out.
An STF commando said the force was like a close-knit family with a high degree of cohesion and coordination.
“I, like most of my fellow constables, joined the STF voluntarily from the district police. Today I am proud to belong to this force. It is great to be part of a force that is trying to improve the situation in my home state,” the commando said. He had been sent for a special training with Greyhound commandos of Andhra Pradesh.
The DIG revealed that after an appeal to the public for information on the criminal gangs, people have been writing to the headquarters of STF in good numbers.
“We have our manpower limitations. We are not supposed to police the entire state and, therefore, we process the information and act only on the most urgent cases. We are not super-cops but we believe that no one is beyond the law,” he added.
Special units of the force are stationed in different parts of the state and they are ready for deployment anywhere in Bihar within three hours. “We are not a static force. Mobility is our biggest quality,” the DIG said.
As part of its confidence-building objective, the STF plans to zero in on gangs that have habitually targeted the men in khaki.
“There is a justification for this. Targeting policemen is aimed at sending out the signal that we are vulnerable to their attacks. It sends out wrong signals to the people. We want to check this so that the people have confidence in policemen,” the DGP pointed out.
