At least 34 murders were recorded in the 10 districts during the period, up from 19 in the previous month.

Abduction, robbery, rape and other crimes are also on the rise, according to police records and other sources.

The districts are Kushtia, Meherpur, Chuadanga, Jhenidah, Magura, Jessore, Khulna, Bagerhat, Narail and Satkhira.

Jessore topped the list with eight murders, followed by seven each in Kushtia and Khulna, five in Jhenidah, two in Narail, three in Chuadanga, five each in Bagerhat and Meherpur and one in Satkhira district.

According to police, most of the killings were done allegedly by outlaws.

Death of alleged outlaws in crossfire could not dent their activities in the region, police sources said.

According to police records, seven crossfire deaths took place each in January and February in the ten districts, raising the figure to 280 since June 2004.

A total of 158 crossfire killings took place from June to December 2004, 108 in 2005 and the rest 14 in two months this year.

Some high police officials seeking anonymity admitted the slide in law and order, saying this is a 'sudden phenomenon'. The situation will improve soon as vigilance by law enforcers including Rab (Rapid Action Battalion) has increased, they said. They blamed outlaws for the slide.

According to different sources, 12 outlawed parties with about 10,000 cadres and a huge quantity of illegal firearms in their possession are active in the region. The parties are four factions of Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP)-- PBCP-ML, PBCP-Janajuddho, PBCP- Red Flag and PBCP-Communist War; Biplobi Communist Party (BCP), New Biplobi Communist Party (NBCP), Banglar Communist Party (BCP-Laltu), Gono Mukti Fouj (GMF), Gono Bahini (GB), Socialist Party (SP), Biplobi Anuragi and Chhinnomul Communist Party (CCP).

'All-out steps have been taken to check criminals' activities in the districts and we are hoping success, Noor Mohammad, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police in Khulna, told this corespondent.

Asked why crimes did not decline despite 'all-out steps', the DIG said, "It is impossible to change the situation overnight in an area where underground parties unleashed a reign of terror for last 30 years".