Nitish Kumar requests Rajnath Singh to set up more ITBP battalions in Bihar, assures state govt's support

Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday requested Union home minister Rajnath Singh to set up 1-2 more battalions of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in the state. As of now, Bihar has two ITBP battalions. [caption id=“attachment_4332909” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of JD(U) president and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. PTI[/caption] “There are two ITBP battalions in Bihar, one at Saran and other at Katihar. I would request the home minister to set up one or two more battalions of ITBP in Bihar. We will give our full support and cooperation (for setting up the battalions),” Kumar was quoted as saying in an official release. Kumar said this while speaking at a function organised on the occasion of the inauguration of ITBP’s 6th battalion’s buildings at Kotheya village in Saran district. Rajnath Singh inaugurated the buildings. Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and MPs Janardan Singh Sigriwal and Rajiv Pratap Rudy were also present on the occasion. “I would request the Home Minister to create a ‘system’ wherein central forces should be made available at the request of Director General of Police (DGP) in times of tension for a brief period,” Kumar said. Thanking Rajnath for agreeing to the state government’s request for setting up Rapid Action Force (RAF) unit in Vaishali district, Kumar said “RAF unit, at present, is called from Jamshedpur in times of tension. We have already made available around 29-30 acres of land for setting up RAF unit in the state. The work should expeditiously be completed on it.” Bihar is a disaster-prone state, the chief minister said, adding the state government needs the help of central forces in tackling situations like disasters and tensions and hence more battalions of central forces be set up in the state.