Barasat police station was split into four on Monday with an aim to intensify policing in the area notorious for crimes against women.
The three new police stations — Duttapukur, Madhyamgram and Sashan — with inadequate manpower and without women cops are responsible for nearly 240sq km.
The new police stations were inaugurated 48 days after chief minister Mamata Banerjee promised to split Barasat police station during her visit to Kamduni on June 17.
A college girl was raped and murdered in Kamduni, under Sashan police station following the split, on June 7.
The new police stations will start functioning at the same buildings where police outposts used to exist.
Barasat police station, before the split, used to cover 268sq km with 160 cops.
In Calcutta, the maximum area a police station covers is 5sq km with more than 100 cops.
Kamduni villagers said the new police stations have been set up hurriedly without ensuring adequate cops.
“Sashan police station, which will man our village, is responsible for 83.66sq km but has only 16 cops,” said a Kamduni resident who refused to be named.
“Sashan police station has been set up in the building where Aminpur police outpost used to exist. The police station will function with the same number of cops as the outpost. Splitting a police station into four cannot be done in such a short period but we had to do it because of the chief minister’s promise,” said a senior officer of North 24-Parganas police.
After food minister Jyotipriya Mallick inaugurated Sashan police station, home secretary Basudeb Banerjee said in his speech that the chief minister had told him to split Barasat police station as soon as possible. “And we have done it,” Banerjee said.
Panel order
The state human rights commission has asked transport secretary Alapan Bandyopadhayay to submit a report within 10 days on ways to introduce auto service or light passenger vehicles in Kamduni.
four units, cops few
Barasat
- Area: 28.4 sq km
- Cop strength: 97
- Population: 2,83,562
Sashan
- Area: 83.66 sq km
- Cop strength: 16
- Population: 1,49,148
Duttapukur
- Area: 105.58 sq km
- Cop strength: 13
- Population: 2,92,355
Madhyamgram
- Area: 50.83 sq km
- Cop strength: 46
- Population: 2,50,291
