Ministry of Railways organised an All India Conference on Railway Security at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, wherein Rajnath Singh, Minister of Home Affairs, said that the objective of the conference is significant as this gives an opportunity to identify and review the security preparedness of Railway security apparatus and how better the forces can serve passengers.
Singh suggested the need to explore the system of online FIR which will expedite investigation and help in controlling crimes. He added that the train passes through the areas which are affected by Maoism, insurgency affected and thereby there is a need to stress upon the paramilitary forces to have theatre specific SoPs to meet these challenges. He urged the participants of the conference to think over issues like regular patrolling, improvement in frisking, alerts in emergency situations. He assured the support of Ministry of Home Affairs in enhancing security of passengers over Indian Railways.
Speaking on the occasion, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways & Coal, informed that 6,000 CCTVs at stations are being procured and cyber crime cells are being made functional. He added that modernization and leveraging technology in the RPF are some of the focus areas.
Manoj Sinha, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Communications & Minister of State for Railways, underlined the need to enhance the technological capacities of the force and stated that to achieve this goal, Ministry of Railways is procuring CCTVs at 6,000 stations to create a digital perimeter over Railways.
Police chiefs and senior police officers from 23 states and two UTs took part as delegates in the conference. The core issues deliberated in the conference include, safety of the Railway Tracks and Railway Projects, problem of trespassing, encroachment and unauthorised crossing, measures to control offences against passengers ( theft, snatching/robbery, dacoity and drugging etc), prompt registration of FIR’s given by passengers, issues related to Inter-state transfer of cases registered by GRP, security of women and children who come in contact with railways, assistance provided to specially-abled passengers, use of technology and safeguard against cyber crimes, death and injuries in untoward incidents over Indian Railways, co-ordination between RPF and GRP Security to Railway Passengers, Railway assets and smooth operation of the Indian Railways.