Bihar govt all set to constitute anti-terror squad

Bihar is geared to launch a specialised anti-terrorist squad (ATS), only the fifth in the country to attempt it.

Coming on the heels of the announcement and cabinet clearance on Tuesday to set up an anti-terrorism thana, the ATS will be constituted with highly trained commandos, ready to deal with any situation.

The ATS has been necessitated more due to geographical proximity of the state with Nepal and Bangladesh, which have turned out to be safe havens for anti-Indian groups, pushing men, money (via fake notes) and destructive material across porous international borders.

Bihar is known to harbour antinational sleeper cells, which also facilitate conduits that link terrorist groups all over India.

Senior officials told HT that the ATS would be headed by an inspector general (IG)-rank officer and have two deputy inspector general (DIGs), four superintendents of police (SPs), additional SPs and deputy SPs, besides other support staff strength of 300. The ATS will be different from the already existing special task force (STF).