Ranchi: Around 100 cases of railway act violation, including travelling without tickets, were lodged and fines worth Rs 2,850 collected during a surprise crackdown by the railway magistrate at Ranchi station on Saturday.

Led by magistrate Vijay Kumar, the three-hour drive was conducted by a team comprising railway commercial inspectors and jawans of Railway Protection Force from 8 in the morning.

The team carried out checks on Lohardaga Ranchi Passenger, Hatia-Burdwan Passenger and Hatia-Kharagpur Passenger among others and caught ticketless passengers and men travelling in ladies compartments.

Passengers were also caught for trespassing and creating nuisance.

"We collected fines worth Rs 2,850 from passengers for different types of violations of the railway act. Several passengers were released after being warned," commercial manager of Ranchi railway division Srinivas Samant said.

The team also checked licences of the vendors operating food stalls on the station premises.

Following the surprise check, RPF personnel carried out an awareness drive on the safety dos and don'ts. RPF's assistant sub-inspector K.K. Singh asked passengers not to share any personal information to unknown co-passengers.

The RPF also distributed pamphlets highlighting safety measures like not opening their purse or luggage in front of unknown people and not to leave belongings unattended while going to the toilet.

It also appealed to passengers to use the railway security helpline 182 - a toll-free number managed by the RPF- during any unpleasant situation.

Do such crackdowns prove effective in the long run? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com