Realising that criminals are fast outwitting the force in the brain game, the city police top brass has decided to activate its now-defunct Criminal Intelligence Wing (CIW).

With three “intelligent” inspectors at the helm and 14 sub-inspectors to assist them, the CIW has been assigned to handle “key cases”, which earlier would be investigated by other wings of the police, like the homicide, dacoity and anti-terrorist cells of the detective department.

The decision to give the CIW a shot in the arm was taken after a growing realisation that the city police’s intelligence network was not efficient enough to keep track of criminals and their whereabouts. In several cases, the Lalbazar police have found their intelligence inputs insufficient or lacking.

“The decision to strengthen the CIW was taken to improve the anti-criminal intelligence network. We hope to get more specific information on the underworld from the CIW,” said deputy commissioner (I) Soumen Mitra of the detective department.

The CIW men will trace the criminal network of Calcutta’s underbelly, investigate and solve murder mysteries, alert the government on any possible terrorist strike and also update the top brass about criminals entering or leaving the city. The wing has been authorised to question anyone and coordinate with the army and the Intelligence Branch, if required.

Some incidents in recent times that have forced the top brass to reach this decision are:

   §Immediately after the US-led attack on Iraq, anti-war demonstrators targeted several US companies and their outlets in the city in April 2003. But the city police’s intelligence wing did not have any information on the demonstrators’ agenda

   §A group of smartly-dressed youths walked into the Gariahat branch of Allahabad Bank in May 2003 and made off with around Rs 5 lakh. The gang did not even have a getaway car waiting. Wrapping up the operation in minutes, the youths just dispersed in different directions. 6Within a short span of this incident, a Baguiati bank was robbed, much in the same fashion. Both cases still remain unsolved.

   §A student of Asutosh College was murdered and his body dumped in a taxi in May. Taj Mohammad, a businessman of Mechua bazaar, was killed in February this year. Shahzada Mughaiz, also a businessman, was dragged off his scooter and murdered. In all three cases, the police are still clueless about the culprits

   §Brothers Chandan and Arun Bermucha murdered a woman and her son at Deshapriya Park in December 2002. The trap laid by the police to net them fell flat. The duo is absconding till date.