Mumbai rail network: 39 held by RPF in 45 molestation cases, 6 others in 5 rape incidents this year

Mumbai, The Railway Protection Force of the Western Railway in Mumbai has arrested 39 persons in 45 cases of molestation and six others in five incidents of rape this year till September, an official said on Tuesday. During the same period, more than 6,200 cases of theft of passengers’ belongings have been registered by the RPF and the Government Railway Police in the metropolis, and more than 1,300 persons have been arrested in that connection, he said. In an official release, the RPF said it has taken special efforts in the detection and prevention of theft of passenger belongings, and also taken significant steps towards women’s security at stations and inside trains. At night, suburban local trains are escorted by the GRP personnel to counter attempts to indulge in crimes against women passengers. Talkback system has been installed in the women’s compartments to communicate with the guard of the train in case of any emergency, it said. It has also deployed 15 ‘Meri Saheli’ teams in selected trains and has started 11 ‘E-Meri Saheli’ teams at major railway stations for the effective security of female passengers travelling alone. Average of 133 night mail or express trains are escorted by the RPF staffers on a daily basis and 68 trains are also being escorted by its women and male staffers for the safety and security of women passengers, it said. Online assistance on X, the online web portal, and 139 Helpline are available round-the-clock to help women passengers. The Sakhi WhatsApp groups are also formed to assist women passengers in solving security-related problems faced by women commuters, it said. The RPF carried out several special initiatives, drives and operations from January to September 2024 to help passengers with their lost belongings, save the lives of passengers, action against touts, miscreants, put criminals behind bars. The Western Railway’s RPF utilises CCTV cameras and Face Recognition System technology to detect such cases. Till September this year, 528 cases of lost belongings of passengers and seven cases of robbery have been detected through CCTV and FRS technology. Continuing in this direction, the RPF has launched several short videos to create awareness among passengers and commuters, it said. These videos give a message to passengers to remain alert and cautious while travelling. These steps include additional deployment of more than 200 Maharashtra Security Force staff on platforms in the Mumbai suburban section.
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