Alarmed at reports of a spurt in crime on the city?s eastern fringes, the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government has decided to bifurcate half-a-dozen police stations, including those at Tiljala, Behala and Sonarpur.

?The bifurcation is necessary to keep pace with the growing population and the rising crime graph,? state finance minister Asim Dasgupta said on Friday, while laying the foundation stone of a police housing complex at Purba Jadavpur, in Mukundapur.

Joynagar, Canning and Mathurapur are the other three police stations that are being bifurcated for more effective monitoring of criminal activities. After the proposed bifurcation, the number of police stations in South 24-Parganas will go up to 43.

?In the past two decades, the population on the eastern fringes of the city has increased by 30 per cent. The rate is six per cent in the city proper. This unequal rate of population growth is causing problems in the Tiljala, Behala and Sonarpur areas and further down in Joynagar, Canning and Mathurapur,? observed Dasgupta.

As per the 2001 census, the population of Tiljala, Behala, Sonarpur, Mathurapur, Canning and Joynagar is nearly 1.7 million. In the past two years, complaints of 48 murders, 51 snatchings, 27 docoities and 22 burglaries have been lodged at the police stations in these six zones.

Dasgupta asked police to be ?more vigilant? against those involved in big-time crime. ?It is regrettable that police are after poor people involved in petty thefts. Those wanted in connection with big crime often get away scot-free,? he observed. The minister also said that police should not take a lenient view of the crimes committed by those well-placed in society. ?I am of the opinion that both the district superintendent and the inspector-general of police (South Bengal) should have a thorough knowledge of the whereabouts of the criminals of their areas,? he added.

Dasgupta advised police officers to engage lawyers who work independently, and not in connivance with criminals. He asked cops not to harass poor people when they sought assistance. ?Whenever people in trouble approach you for help, you must listen to them and do what is needful,? he advised.

Sunderbans development minister Kanti Ganguly, also present at the inauguration, agreed that the increase in population had necessitated bifurcation of the six police stations. ?The smaller the area, the better it is for policing,? he observed.

Ganguly informed the gathering that the 15-cottah plot on which the police housing complex was coming up had been originally donated to an organisation for the disabled ? Rajya Pratibandhi Sammilani. ?We have taken back the land. The organisation will be allotted land elsewhere,? he said.

Director-general of police Shyamal Dutta said that 120 posts of inspectors, 400 posts for the Eastern Frontier Rifles and 200 posts for women constables had been added to the city police roster. Officers of the inspector rank would man police stations in the terrorist-infested districts like East Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia from now on, he added.