Village police force to be set up in WB, says Mamata

Banerjee, while inaugurating a police commissionerate at Siliguri in north Bengal, said the strength of the force would be increased later.

The government plans to form 65 women police station of which 10 has already been set up, she said after the inauguration programme at Mallaguri here.

"After coming to power, we have recruited 40,000 policemen of which 15,700 are in Jungle Mahal (the Maoist affected forested area of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura districts in south Bengal) alone," Banerjee said.

"We are trying to achieve in five years what the previous Left Front government could not in 34 years," she said.

Comprised of five police stations -- Siliguri, Matigara, Pradhan Nagar, Bhaktinagar and Bagdogra -- the Siliguri commissionerate would cater to 10.2 lakh population living in an area of 640 sq km.

There would be 900 policemen under the Commissioner of Police Anand Kumar, who had been serving as superintendent of police, district intelligence branch of Darjeeling.

The number of policemen would be increased to 2,200, the chief minister said adding she would soon inaugurate the circuit bench of Calcutta High Court at Jalpaiguri near here.

She also inaugurated the Siliguri office of the Railway Recruitment Board in presence of Railway Minister Mukul Roy.