A group of Left extremists carried out simultaneous attacks at three supposedly high-security locations in Bihar’s Jehanabad town on 13 November 2005.
The attacks on the police lines, on a local college ground where CRPF personnel were guarding electronic voting machines (EVMs), and the city jail where 340 prisoners were ‘freed’ rattled the state administration.
Shockingly, no one had a clue as to what had happened. The extremists were reportedly carrying 186 rifles and 3,000 bullets that were smuggled in from neighbouring Jharkhand.
The incident exemplified what Bihar was then: A place where the state had unfortunately withered away. Eleven days later, when Nitish Kumar became the chief minister of the seemingly lawless state, he had an almost insurmountable challenge to overcome.