Patna: CM Samrat Choudhary on Friday asked officials to constitute special teams at the police station level in Bihar’s border districts to identify people whose income has risen sharply and disproportionately in recent years compared with their known sources of earnings.Chairing a review meeting on security, administrative and development issues related to the India-Nepal border, he said complete details of such people should be collected, verified and followed up with legal action wherever necessary.The meeting was held at Samvad Hall in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.Samrat asked officials to strengthen surveillance within a 15-km radius of all check posts along the India-Nepal border. He said special focus should be placed on economic offences, suspicious activities, fertiliser smuggling and narcotics trafficking.District magistrates and superintendents of police from all seven border districts joined the meeting through video conferencing. Senior officials of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Intelligence Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, Narcotics Control Bureau, customs and income tax departments attended in person.The CM also asked officials to identify 100 suitable sites in Kishanganj district for the establishment of Urdu schools.Samrat said issues concerning the India-Nepal border were being reviewed regularly at multiple levels, including by the Union home minister, the CM, the chief secretary and the director general of police. Several decisions taken at previous meetings had already been implemented, he said, adding that the remaining tasks should be completed expeditiously through better coordination and commitment.He said the India-Nepal border in Bihar stretches nearly 730km, covering seven districts, 70 police stations and 194 SSB border outposts. Officials must ensure that no illegal or unlawful activity is allowed in the border belt, he said. Police station in-charges were directed to function efficiently, prevent irregularities and maintain close vigilance over all activities without affecting the cordial relationship between India and Nepal.The CM also directed that regular coordination meetings be held among the district administration, police and border security forces to curb fertiliser smuggling and narcotics trafficking.During the review, chief secretary Pratyaya Amrit gave a detailed presentation on India-Nepal border management. The DMs and SPs of Kishanganj, Madhubani and West Champaran briefed the meeting through video conferencing on action taken on earlier directions and shared suggestions for strengthening monitoring, coordination and enforcement in sensitive border areas.
