In the recent times, there has been an increase in the crime rate within the railway premises. In view of this, the railway police in a bid to curb the crime have initiated several programmes for the benefit of the 6.9 million commuters. As a gesture of gratitude, in an event a group of women in Mumbai tied rakhi to the cops and thanked them for their efforts. The cops also launched SAMEEP and B-Safe programmes for women safety.
Railways are an important part of a citizen’s life. It is one of the most used and affordable modes to reach your destination. But do we have any idea how it works and the kind of man power that is required to keep it going? Mumbai’s local railway is aptly termed as the “lifeline of the city”. Mumbai is one of the densest cities of the world and the trains are its saving grace, transporting a staggering 6.9 million people per day. Trains can get so overcrowded during peak hours that it is common to have 14-16 people per square meter. If this sounds intimidating, just imagine the load on the cops who work day and night to reach us safely. The Government Railway Police (GRP) along with the Railway Protection Force (RPF) works 24×7 so that our journey is peaceful.
“Citizen safety has always been our priority. We try our best so that each and every passenger in train feels safe. Commuters should feel free to come forward and share their problems with us so that we could help them,” said a GRP police officer.
Pick- pocketing, robbery, molestation etc. are some of the crimes that are on the rise in the railways. In view of the growing menace due to these crimes, the commissioner of railway police along with his team has tightened its belt and is on the look out for people committing such offences. Recently, in a bid to check the crimes against women in local trains, the department has installed CCTV in the ladies compartment for their safety.
“We have taken an initiative and installed CCTV in the ladies compartment which operates 24×7. A team of police officers has been assigned the task to monitor the movement. These officers are assisted by teams of GRP and RPF officials that keep a watchful eye on any irregular movement that may be taking place in and round the railway premises” said an officer attached to GRP.
Success stories
“I had lost my phone while travelling in train for which I filed a case at the nearby GRP police station. I had lost all hopes of getting it back, but the Railway cops traced it and handed it over tome. Thank you Railway police,” said Prakash Sharma, resident of Nalasopara.
Palghar police recently traced a stolen bag containing one gold chain, cash of Rs.1.43 L and one Rs.1L bearer cheque. Suresh Gadekar, a commuter had forgotten his bag while travelling from Pune to Karjat. He contacted the GRP and the local railway cops immediately traced it and returned him back. More than 1000 such cases have been solved by the cops in the last six months.
Recently, the railway cops launched two new initiatives- SAMEEP (Safety Alert Messages Exclusively for Passengers) and B Safe for the betterment of the commuters.
“Seven hundred people lost their lives because they fell out of the train, which is really unfortunate, and sixteen hundred people lost their lives while crossing tracks, I feel in today’s world every minute matters, there is competition every where,” said Sachin Tendulkar at the launch event.
“Your family and friends are waiting for you back home and if you reach five minutes later it really does not matter. It is important to be there, safe and sound, rather than be in hospital,” he added.
Talking about the two safety initiatives, a Mumbai railway police official said, “SAMEEP is an effort towards instant communication with railway passengers in case of any eventuality.
“Under this scheme, we invite commuters to give missed call on 7208015207 or SMS MH RLY COP to 166 to get registered. Those who get registered will be sent an SMS when required about important developments/disruptions, safety advisories, women security updates, correct information to dispel any rumors,” an official release said. “B-Safe is a prolonged multi-media awareness campaign. It is for educating the public about various precautions they should take for safe commuting. The themes range from crime control, women’s safety, accident- prevention, reporting of suspicious activity, etc.,” it added. The campaign will see theme based posters being put up at all platforms, distribution of pamphlets and awareness meeting of commuter associations and education institutions,” it said. Mumbai railway police commissioner Madhukar Pandey, who was present at the occasion, said that nearly 75 lakh people travel via trains in the mega-polis.
Apart from this, the GRP also participated in the initiative by the central government named MUSKAAN which is also known as Operation Smile in which cops were ordered to trace the missing children under its jurisdictions.
In the second edition of the initiative MUSKAAN, the GRP have rescued 1,566 kids in 30 days which is an average of 52 children a day. Of the rescued children 448 are girls and 1118 were boys. Most of these children have been returned to their families, 78 were handed over to the Child Welfare Committee. Mumbai Central topped the list of stations, with 348 kids being found there, followed by 269 at CST.
The GRP formed special teams of women constables to keep an eye on children wandering on stations. According to a GRP official, most of these kids were found at CST and Mumbai Central because they were ‘terminating and originating’ stops.
Several kids would also run away from their home and come to Mumbai for the glamour of Bollywood. A 9-year old boy who was later identified as Chandan Vinay Kumar Shrivastav was found aimlessly roaming around Koparkhairane railway station by commuters on April 26. The commuters who found him handed him over to the GRP. Chandan could not communicate as he was mute.
The GRP started a search for his family and traced his house relying on his actions and expressions. Chandan was then handed over to his parents after a search that lasted a couple of hours.
Last year, while analyzing the increase in crime rate, commissioner of railway police Madhukar Pandey said that the night escort staff of the railway police had been increased from 380 police constables and 200 home guards to 420 and 240, respectively. Pandey also said that to provide “the best measures possible” to ensure safe travel for women, the railway police had approached IIT Bombay to chalk out “a foolproof plan” to stop scheduling errors in trains– one of the main reasons for police escorts not being on the train.
The railway police have already enforced several initiatives such as ‘Whats App helplines’ and the ‘Nirbhaya Squads’ to provide safe journey options for women passengers.
Anti-Tobacco Awareness Drive
As part of health awareness which is integral to fitness and good health essential for policemen, an anti-tobacco awareness drive is being organized in GRP police stations. Until now, Kalyan, Dombivali, Karjat, Panvel, Vashi, Thane and Wadala stations have been covered. In this drive, lectures are organized by the experts or by the PIs. Awareness posters are procured from cancer society at Bhoiwada and displayed. In Wadala, a street play was organized. At most places, public is also being educated through meetings, street plays or announcements.
Bond of Love and Protection
On the auspicious occasion of Rakshabandan, the local women travelling on trains met GRP officials and thanked the cops for protecting them from criminals. Women tied rakhi to the on – duty cops and asked them to continue with their job of protecting women passengers as they had been doing since the last so many years. ‘I am a regular commuter of local trains. I have seen police officials in ladies compartment standing 24×7 for our safety. On the occasion of Rakshabandan I would like to thank them for their efforts. Thankyou Mumbai police’ said, Sidhi Mandrekar.’
We would like to appreciate the efforts taken by our cops for our safety. Through this platform, I would like to thank them and request them to keep doing their duty as they have been doing for past decades,’ said Kinnari Nair.
Precautions for the commuters
Avoid leaning at the door of running train:
Standing close to the door should be avoided. You could actually lose balance and fall off the train. Secondly, if you have something expensive on you such as jewellery or mobile phones, you could be targeted by thieves who may not care about your safety.
Do not cross railway tracks ever:
Always take the foot over bridge to move to another platform. As many as 184 people lost their lives in the last four months because they chose to ignore this safety rule.
Never board a running train:
However, urgent you might think reaching some place might be, it can never be more important than staying alive or having all your limbs intact.
Avoid travelling in empty compartments:
In case the train seems empty, choose the compartment closest to the motorman’s cabin. According to a railway police inspector, at night, women should only travel in those compartments that have police presence. In case you feel unsafe or want to report anything, call the railway police helpline 9833331111. A constable, who answered the helpline, explained that the helpline has been instituted so that the commuters can report if a person finds an unclaimed object or a suspicious person is seen at the station or in the train. They can call this number for police help,which is generally made available at the next railway station, he said.
– by Mohit Naik
