Jamui: In one of the worst Naxal attacks in recent times in Bihar, five policemen were ambushed and killed by 40 Maoists. The policemen were killed when heavily armed Maoists attacked a police patrol, barely 500 metres from the local police station. Maoist looted their weapons before escaping.
The cops were outnumbered and unable to take on the sophisticated arms of the Naxals.
"At around 8 pm there was a Maxal attack near Sona Chowk. Three jawans and an ASI died. Two jawans were injured and our rifles and revolvers were looted," said Shatrughan Prasad, SHO, Sonho bazaar, Jamui
One more policeman died later in hospital. The police and the CRPF have a launched a counter strike and claim that a Maoist was killed. But beyond that, the counter attack wasn't successful.
This year alone, Maoists in Bihar have killed 24 policemen, another 22 seriously injured -- a strong indication of the growing strength of Maoists in Bihar. And it explains why the Prime Minister has called Naxalism one of the biggest challenges before India.
Even as New Delhi continues to pour in money for modernisation of police forces, the police stations in Bihar, especially in Naxal-hit areas, are battling with no power, no defence and no sophisticated weapons to take on the Maoists.
And that's not all; the state has nearly 16,000 police vacancies, the highest in any state. Clearly the Maoists face little challenge from the police.