Patna:
A day after scathing indictment of his force by Gujarat's top cop over serial blasts that killed six people in Patna just before Narendra Modi's rally, Bihar Director General of Police Abhayanand today responded with equally strong words.
"As a professional police officer you should not be concerned about the law and order in my state as it's outside your domain," Mr Abhayanand said in a statement.
Gujarat Director General of Police Pramod Kumar had yesterday accused the Bihar Police of "indifference and laxity" and said that the string of blasts that killed six people in Patna just before Mr Modi's rally on Sunday could have been averted if adequate security preparedness had been ensured.
Mr Kumar had alleged in a statement that his officers had been in touch with the Bihar Police for 20 days before Mr Modi's rally, but the police in Patna, had agreed only with much reluctance to hold a joint meeting on security with them.
Mr Kumar also alleged that the police in Patna did not conduct standard security drills and did not plan for crowd access control at the park that day.
Today, Mr Abhayanand countered the allegations and said that adequate security preparedness was ensured ahead of Mr Modi's rally and Additional Director General, Special Branch, was tasked with making security equipment available.
The Bihar top cop also said that Mr Modi already enjoys Z-category security, but additional security measures were put in place by the state police. Mr Abhayanand also said that there was no bomb blast during the rally; Mr Modi reached the stage at 12.45 and all the bombs had exploded before his arrival.
On Sunday, as Narendra Modi landed in Patna, two Gujarat Police cops had met him on the tarmac and informed him of a blast at the Patna Railway station. They had reportedly advised Mr Modi, who is the BJP's candidate for Prime Minister, not to continue to the venue of the rally. But Mr Modi insisted on carrying on as scheduled.
The BJP has blamed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for "gross criminal negligence", alleging that even basic security arrangements for the Gujarat Chief Minister's rally were deliberately overlooked.
Nitish Kumar has denied that there were security lapses on part of his administration.