The state cabinet on Tuesday cleared the appointment of 141 personnel for the Special Task Force, the only dedicated wing of the city police to fight organised crime.

“The present personnel of the Special Task Force are all on deputation. Today’s cabinet clearance will ensure that there will be dedicated men for the force. The recruitment process will start soon after the government order reaches us,” police commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti said.

The STF was set up last year with seven inspectors and nine sub-inspectors, who functioned under an additional commissioner. Though the strength has gone up marginally since, the force still remains a far cry from its counterparts in Mumbai and Delhi.

The new personnel will be sent for specialised training. “We are in talks with a few agencies, including the BSF, for advanced training for our men in investigation and handling sophisticated weapons,” said a senior officer. “Since tackling organised crime will be their forte, the men will not be deployed on law and order duty.”

Insiders said the authorities were looking for a plot in Rajarhat to set up a training school for the force.

An STF officer, however, said the government should also focus on providing incentive to the force. “A member of Mumbai’s Anti-terrorist Squad gets 50 per cent more salary and an insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh. There is no such system here,” the officer said, not willing to be quoted.

The government is yet to decide on the police authorities’ proposal that each STF member be given 30 per cent more salary and an insurance cover.

Pre-puja alert

Central intelligence agencies have warned the Bengal government that a Bangladesh-based gang might enter the state before Puja in an attempt to trigger subversive activities. While the alert is for the entire state in general, there is a specific mention about Calcutta.

“The special branch has been activated following the warning,” said a senior officer of Calcutta police.

The PWD, on its part, has asked all state-run hotels and lodges on the city fringes to step up security and verify identity cards of visitors. In the city, plainclothesmen have been assigned with the task of scanning the guest register of all medium and small hotels.

The traffic police have been asked to install “mobile railings” at various intersections at night for effective scanning of vehicles. The officers-in-charge of all traffic guards have to keep an eye on the registers maintained by guards at parking lots, including the ones in malls, multiplexes and the central business district.