This strategy was outlined by none other than Director General of Bihar Police Abhay Anand at the annual conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police forces held here late last night, officials attending the meet said today.
A 1977-batch IPS officer of the Bihar cadre who took over on September last year as the police chief, Anand, told the gathering of senior police officers that during the recent murder of Brahmeshwar Singh alias 'Mukhyia' in June, he directed his men to videograph the protesters rather than acting against them.
This stunned all those present in the hall at Vigyan Bhawan who started questioning him about his decision and a general opinion was that the first action of the police was to prevent destruction of property.
The answer of the Bihar Director General further stumped the audience when he said whatever was destroyed at the end of the agitation was government property - few vehicles and some buildings.
"I don't think that I have any comment to offer as this is a professional matter and I would not like to debate it on media platform," Anand told PTI when his reaction was sought.
The Bihar DGP also told the gathering that on the hindsight he did not regret his decision though some areas, including the capital city of Patna was tense.
After videography, police registered cases against the protesters, he said but the gathering appeared unconvinced.
As the presentation of the Anand ended, a senior official of central para-military forced stood up and expressed hope that Bihar police deployed with the CRPF in its fight against Naxalism does not follow the same principle, a statement that made the entire hall burst into peels of laughter.
