Bihar gets ATS, after Bodh Gaya, Patna blasts

After serial bomb blasts in Patna and Bodh Gaya, Bihar is set to have its own Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the state government has appointed its first inspector general (IG), officials said Friday.

"The much-awaited Bihar ATS will be a reality soon, as the state government has finally initiated the move to set it up with the appointment of senior IPS (Indian Police Service) officer Paresh Saxena as IG of the ATS," an official in the Chief Minister's Office said.

The appointment was made Thursday.

The process for the selection of personnel and their training will soon get underway, the official said.

The ATS will have, besides the IG, a deputy inspector general, a superintendent of police, deputy superintendent of police and six sub-inspectors. The government has cleared 344 posts for the ATS.

Officials said the ATS would cost Rs.18.13 crore, each year.

Early this month, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had announced that the process of setting up the ATS had begun.

The state cabinet approved a proposal to set up the ATS after the July 7 serial bomb blasts at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya. Ten bombs had exploded at or in the vicinity of the temple, and two Buddhist monks were injured. Three live bombs were recovered and defused that day.

The Mahabodhi Temple - a Unesco World Heritage Site - is where the Buddha, born in neighbouring Nepal, attained enlightenment around 2,550 years ago.

On Oct 27, ahead of a rally to be addressed by Bharatiya Janata Party's prime minister candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, blasts went off in the state capital, leaving seven dead, including a suspected bomber.