Saturday, April 8 2006 16:16 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: With Maoists stepping up their activities in the Himalayan Kingdom, security forces have intensified vigil along the 750-km-long Indo-Nepal border to prevent the rebels from sneaking into the country.

The Sashastra Seema Bal and state police, assisted by other central forces, have geared up to meet any eventuality with senior officials of the Bihar administration taking stock of the situation today. State Home Secretary H C Sirohi and Director-General of Police Ashish Ranjan Sinha held discussions with top officials of the bordering districts in Bihar to oversee security arrangement and evolve strategy to check infiltration of militants into the Bihar territory from Nepal.

All police stations along the Indo-Nepal border have been put on maximum alert due to increased threat of Maoists, Sinha told sources.

"We have stepped up area domination exercise to thwart any attempt by the militants to create disturbances in Bihar," he said.

Sirohi directed zonal IG Sumit Kumar and range DIG Gupteshwar Pandey to assess the situation prevailing in Bihar's Sitamarhi district bordering Saralahi district of Nepal where an Indian was among 21 people killed in bloody clashes between Nepalese forces and Maoists.

An Indian working in a hotel in Malangawa, 120 km south of Kathmandu and close to Sitamarhi, was killed during a fierce gunbattle between security forces and Maoists whoconducted overnight raids on government establishments on the first day of an Opposition-sponsored general strike.