While encroachments on railway land have made the outer areas crime prone, lack of cameras, a short staffed RPF and unavailability of police dogs have hindered investigations in many cases
Deteriorating infrastructure and lack of proper security arrangements has meant that crime in the Delhi Delhi division of the railways has been allowed to run rampant. In a recent front page report, DNA had recently highlighted the problems citing various reasons not just to the growth in crime but also as the reasons why crimes were becoming difficult to solve.
While encroachments on railway land have made the outer areas crime prone, lack of cameras, a short staffed Railways Protection Force (RPF) and unavailability of police dogs have hindered investigations in many cases.
But experts say that the lack of RPF manpower has meant that crimes, especially against women, has grown over the years. Statistics show that cases of rape and molestation. between 2013 (760) and 2015 (3,356) saw a massive spike of 341% in crime cases. In 2015, major cases included: 10 murders, seven attempts to murder, 15 rapes, 40 kidnappings, 102 robberies and 2,768 thefts.
In many cases, the culprits got away.
DNA had also exclusively reported that in Delhi division only 11 out of 232 railway stations in have CCTV cameras, after which the DRM had announced that money from the Nirbhaya Fund would be used to install cameras at many other stations.
The other issues is that of heavy encroachments on railway land. Senior officers tell DNA that encroachments on the tracks have become a major menace, as the train is forced to slow down, allowing miscreants to get on board.
Over 50,000 illegal jhuggis on railway land have been identified till now across Delhi-NCR, of which 23,000 fall in the safety zone — tracks only 15 metres away or less. These encroachments also result in littering and put train operations at risk and cause delays.
Poor visibility means reduced speed and risk-fraught travel with piles of garbage seen dangerously close to tracks. Some of the worst-hit areas are: Mayapuri, Sukhdev Nagar, Rakhi Market, Old Seelampur, Lal Bagh, Shriram Nagar, Shahdara, Tughlakabad, Shakurbasti and Dayabasti.
"Lack of CCTV cameras and proper Infrastructure is a big obstacle. The RPF that escorts these trains is also drastically short staffed. With restricted infrastructure it becomes difficult to ensure fool proof security. However, our men work hard and try to take adequate precautionary and preventive measures so that that no such incidents take place," a senior RPF officer said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Crime")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}