Bihar CM calls for tighter centre-state coordination on India-Nepal border

Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Saturday called for closer coordination between the Sashastra Seema Bal, Bihar Police and central agencies to strengthen security along the India-Nepal border, describing the frontier as sensitive and requiring continuously upgraded management systems.

Mr. Choudhary was speaking at a high-level review meeting on issues concerning the India-Nepal border. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai and Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary were present. District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police from border districts joined through video conferencing.

The meeting featured detailed presentations on border security, border management, law and order in border areas, and the prevention of illegal activities.

Stating that national security is a foremost responsibility, the Chief Minister said the SSB, Bihar Police and central agencies must act in coordination to ensure effective control over any form of illegal activity in the border region.

He directed that special vigilance be maintained against infiltration, the use of forged documents, counterfeit currency, drug trafficking and other criminal activities. Banks in border areas should be equipped with machines to detect counterfeit currency, he said, calling for appropriate action against suspicious financial transactions and fake or dubious accounts. He also sought effective steps against drug trafficking to curb the movement of narcotics across the border.

Mr. Choudhary instructed that monthly coordination meetings be held between District Magistrates and police officials of border districts and central security and investigative agencies. He also asked authorities to identify unregistered religious sites in border areas and take necessary action under prevailing laws, and directed that better educational facilities be made available in these areas.

The Chief Minister said effective border security would require vigilance, information sharing and coordinated action from all concerned agencies, and stressed the need to strengthen the intelligence network in sensitive areas while ensuring prompt and lawful action against any suspicious activity.