CRPF bases put on high-alert (India)

NEW DELHI: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has put its bases across the country on high-alert following warnings of terror attacks. The development came hours after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Tuesday blamed "CRPF's laxity" responsible for the Fidayeen attack in the state in the wee hours. She said the state government had alerted the central security agency about the threat much in advance. "Rampur district officials some time ago had met the CRPF officials and asked them to take necessary precautions and the incident indicates laxity on their part," she told reporters here and termed the attack as an act of cowardice. Refusing to accept the attack as a failure on the part of her government, Mayawati said the state government had acted in accordance with the intelligence input about the threat perception to the CRPF camp and had also alerted the officials of the CRPF camp and "failure, if any, is on their part". Asked as to how terrorists reached the camp, the Chief Minister said even if the terrorists had reached the camp it was the duty of the CRPF, who had already been informed of the threat, "to teach them (terrorists) a lesson". In a pre-dawn attack, heavily-armed militants on Tuesday struck at a CRPF camp in Rampur, killing eight persons, including seven security personnel, and leaving five others wounded.