The Government Railway Police (GRP) are gearing up to tackle crimes at railway stations and on running trains during the festive season.
Senior officials of the GRP and Railway Protection Force held a meeting in Patna recently to chalk out a strategy to prevent crime during the festive season. Patna superintendent of rail police (SRP) P.N. Mishra headed the meeting.
Station house officers also attended the meeting and a decision to form 12 special teams, each comprising an officer and four police personnel, was taken. While four teams will camp at Anand Vihar railway station in Delhi, two teams will remain at Mughalsarai station in Uttar Pradesh.
Four teams will escort trains departing for Gaya and Patna from Anand Vihar. Two teams have been assigned the task to escort trains on the Mughalsarai-Gaya route. Each team will be equipped with a video camera, cellphones and a megaphone.
Sharing details of the initiatives, Mishra said criminal incidents usually showed an upward trend during the festive season, starting from Dussehra. Gangs usually target labourers returning home from places like Delhi, Punjab, Bengal and Maharashtra.
Majority of the cases reported during the season are those of theft and robbery. While the teams led by Sanjay Pandey and Santosh Kumar Sinha, both inspectors, will camp at Anand Vihar from October 13 to October 21, the teams headed by Baidyanath Sharma and Ajay Kumar will camp at Mughalsarai from November 12 to November 17.
Mishra said two senior deputy superintendents of police - Amritendu Shekhar Thakur and Lalbabu Prasad - would be sent outside Bihar to ensure that the teams were following instructions. The GRP has also decided to launch awareness campaigns at important stations. Around 20,000 pamphlets will be distributed among passengers.
Jansadharan Express, Vikramshila Express, North East Express, Mahabodhi Express, Poorva Express, Magadh Express and Shramjeevi Express are considered the most vulnerable from the security point of view.
Inspector-general (rail) Amit Kumar said: "Passenger safety is our utmost concern. Continuous efforts are on to prevent theft and other criminal activities on trains and stations."
