Jamshedpur, Oct. 14: To thwart incidents of snatching and theft during the festive season, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) has intensified vigil on running trains.
The RPF has decided to lay more stress on its “decoy operation” for keeping thieves and thugs at bay. As a part of the operation, jawans in plainclothes would travel with the passengers to ensure their safety. These measures would help a lot as incidents of snatching and theft rise during Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath, sources in the RPF said.
Earlier, RPF jawans in mufti were deployed on long-distance trains running under the Chakradharpur division, but now they would also conduct similar exercise on local trains to prevent untoward incidents.
The divisional security commissioner (Chakradharpur division), Ajit Kumar Barnwal, confirmed that the decoy operation has been intensified to ensure the safe journey of passengers. “During the festival season, criminals target crowded trains to snatch valuables from the passengers,” he added.
In addition to the decoy operation during the day, the RPF would also intensify “night escort” on long-distance trains that run on the Tata-Chakradharpur-Mumbai mainline during the festive season. RPF jawans would be deployed at sensitive railway stations like Manoharpur under the Chakradharpur division.
Barnwal added: “The jawans would hand over suspicious persons to the Government Railway Police (GRP), who in turn, would take necessary legal action. The team for the operation would comprise a senior RPF jawan and his subordinates. The security personnel have been imparted training to identify suspects travelling on trains,” he said.
According to the senior railway functionary, RPF jawans have been asked to be extra vigilant during the night escort in the Naxalite-affected railway sections, particularly in West Singhbhum. “The jawans, who underwent guerrilla warfare training, have been deployed on long-distance night trains,” Barnwal said.
GRP in Tatanagar railway station had lodged around 309 cases in 2006. About 110 cases have been registered under the Chakradharpur division up to August, 2007.
