Yashwant Sinha condemns Jharkhand Maoist attack, calls for better intelligence inputs

Terming the Maoist attack in Jharkhand as extremely unfortunate, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha today emphasized the need for better intelligence inputs, which the administration should receive.

Sinha, who offered his condolences to the families of the police officials killed in the Maoist attack, said one had expected that Jharkhand would learn a lesson after the Chhattisgarh incident in which Congress leaders were killed.

"But obviously, the administration has not learned any lesson. Jharkhand is under President's rule as you know. And the area is very-well known to me because I was Deputy Commissioner there when I was an IAS officer, I know the area very well. It used to be very quiet, but it was a main road on which he was returning to Pakur from Dumka and on this main road in broad daylight the Naxalites attack police convoy, which consists of the SP and others and kill them," said Sinha.

"Now, why is it that the administration did not have prior information that 100-odd Naxals were assembling. But the administration was completely unaware of this and this is where the danger lies," he added.

Pakur Superintendent of Police (SP) Amarjit Balihar, his driver and the guards were ambushed by the Naxals yesterday when they were returning to Pakur, after attending a meeting in Dumka.

The incident took place near the forests of Amrapa, nearly 400 km from Ranchi.

The extremists exploded bombs and opened fire on the police vehicles.

Balihar, a 2003 batch IPS officer, had been targeted by extremists in the past due to his tough stand against the Maoists in Pakur, which has their strong presence.