Patna: The Bihar government is set to expand its anti-terror infrastructure with four new regional offices of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the creation of 346 posts, as part of a broader effort to counter terrorism, anti-national activities and organised crime.
Police headquarters has sent a proposal to the state home department to establish the offices in Gaya, Motihari, Darbhanga and Purnea, in addition to the existing ATS headquarters in Patna. The process will begin once approval is granted.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, the additional director general (law and order), Pankaj Kumar Darad, said the regional units would improve the ATS’s operational reach, efficiency and accountability. Each office will cover multiple districts, enabling faster intelligence collection and response at the local level, and will operate alongside the special branch in the districts.
The ATS is maintaining heightened surveillance in border areas and monitoring individuals released from prison on anti-national charges, Darad said, with the aim of detecting and disrupting potential conspiracies at an early stage.
He added that the ATS’s social media monitoring unit had identified 176 individuals linked to extremist ideologies. Twelve of them have undergone counselling as part of de-radicalisation efforts, which police described as a preventive measure against the spread of extremism.
As part of a parallel crackdown on organised crime, one officer and one constable in every police station across the state have been tasked with gathering intelligence on drug trafficking, illegal liquor trade, terrorism and related offences. The information will be shared with district and state headquarters and coordinated with district-level counter-terrorism teams.
Security measures have also been tightened ahead of the New Year. Police stations along Bihar’s borders have been instructed to increase checks and patrols in coordination with the Sashastra Seema Bal, while all stations have been told to intensify night patrols and take strict action against liquor smuggling.
Darad said the state had accelerated proceedings to seize assets acquired through crime under section 107 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. So far, 1,421 criminals have been identified, with court proposals filed in 407 cases. Proceedings are under way in 80 cases, and the properties of three alleged criminals in Begusarai, Muzaffarpur and Vaishali have already been seized.
Between January and December 22, preventive action was taken against about 1.27 million people, and bond proceedings were initiated against approximately 363,000 individuals, according to police figures.
