The superintendents of police of Murshidabad and Jangipur police districts have submitted proposals to the state home department for creation of new police stations and manpower.

In the Murshidabad police district, authorities have requested the formation of four new stations at Rajdhapara, Karnasuvarna, Sargachhi, and Gangadhhari to serve the extended municipalities and gram panchayat areas.

Sources said police personnel in the district had reported feeling “understaffed” despite the bifurcation of the district police dispensation into two (Jangipur police district) in January 2020.

“We want the erstwhile Berhampore station to serve only the municipality now, whereas the one at Karnasuvarna will serve six gram panchayats west of Berhampore town,” said a source.

“The old station in Beldanga can be shifted to Sargachhi to include more gram panchayats whereas the one in Nowda’s Gangadhari can cover four gram panchayats, including those in Hariharpara and Domkal,” the source added.

The sources said the Murshidabad police district had also leased out an office in the Beldanga station area and posted a DSP there.

Murshidabad superintendent of police K. Sabari Rajkumar acknowledged the need of expanding police rosters and capacity.

“Our population is growing by the day and this has led to a spurt in crimes. Cybercrime has become a major problem of our times. Keeping these things in mind and with an aim to decentralise the force, we have sent the proposal to create four new police stations to the government,” he said.

In the Jangipur police district, sources have said officials are pushing for the current Raghunathganj headquarters to be split into one in Jangipur and another station east of the river in the municipal town.

“We want the introduction of two new stations in total. One could be located in Suti’s Ahiran as well, which is centrally located,” said a source.

Officials in Murshidabad said a host of other concerns made them come up with the initiative, explaining that 2021 would be a crucial election year.

“Murshidabad has a long history of political violence. Domkal also sees a lot of violence and murders over land disputes and elections,” said an officer.

The officials also said Murshidabad’s status as a district with an international border had always made it prone to crimes, including smuggling and trafficking. These criminal incidents often go unnoticed along the 100km-long border in the district. Currently, the stretch is manned by 10 police stations with Farakka on one end and Jalangi on the other.

“The fencing and personnel in this area need to be drastically improved,” said an officer.

The last census recorded the population as having grown two-fold to nearly 72 lakh in the last three decades. The two police districts taken together, Murshidabad has 28 police stations. However, a district like South 24-Parganas, which comes closest to Murshidabad in terms of population (81 lakh), has 35 police stations and this excludes areas that come under Calcutta police.