Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar came in for severe criticism from different quarters – except, of course, his own party, Janata Dal (U), and ally Bharatiya Janata Party – for his alleged clumsy handling of the police abduction crisis.
Known as an efficient administrator and credited
with pulling Bihar out of the morass after the 15-year-long Rashtriya Janata Dal rule, Nitish has for the first time kept his flank unguarded.
The Maoists kidnapped sub-inspectors Rupesh Kumar Sinha and Abhay Yadav and Lucas Tete and Bihar Military Police Havildar Ehsan Khan after a gun battle on Sunday in Kajra hills in Lakshisarai district, about 100 km from here.
The Maoists killed Tete on Friday, as the government had not accepted their demand for the release of eight rebels lodged in different jails in the state.
Although Kumar convened an all-party meeting on Saturday to discuss Maoist insurgency, his rivals, such as Lok Janashakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan, have come out in the open, accusing him of having a soft spot for the Maoists.
Bihar Congress spokesman Prem Chandra Mishra also blamed Kumar's approach. "Kumar boycotted the meeting of chief ministers convened by Home Minister P. Chidambaram on the plea that Maoism was no problem in Bihar. The result is there for all to see."
Security experts are saying Sunday's operation was botched up and showed callousness of the police leadership. Even though the trapped policemen asked for reinforcement, there was no initiative to rescue them.
Former president of Bihar Policemen's Association K.K. Jha said, "The policemen were virtually served as fodder for the Maoists with sophisticated weapons."
RJD leader Ram Kripal Yadav said senior police officers reached the spot only at 5.30 pm on August 30 "although seven policemen were killed on August 29 and their bodies recovered on August 30 morning".
From Tuesday onwards, the family members of sub-inspectors Rupesh Kumar Sinha and Abhay Yadav kept on urging the CM to take steps to rescue the abducted officers.
But when the false alarm about Yadav's killing came in on Thursday, the chief minister only threw up his arms in exasperation, as his administration did not know whom to approach.
He also came up with the safe passage offer four days after the abduction and said the state government had protected the rights of the arrested Maoists and "we also expect a similar treatment with the policemen". Next day, Tete's bullet-riddled body was found.