Five years on, RPF still short of men in Mumbai

Five years after the terror attack at CST, the Railway Protection Force is grappling with acute shortage of manpower in Mumbai. More than 1,300 posts of sub-inspectors and constables are lying vacant in CR as well as WR. On CR, at least 758 posts, which include 664 vacancies for constables, are yet to be filled, while, on WR, 623 posts are vacant, including more than 500 for constables, for the past few years, said a senior RPF officer. He added that the recruitment process is conducted at national level and, hence, it takes long.

The current RPF strength on CR is 1,649 and on WR it’s 660.

Earlier, there was one company each of the Railway Protection Special Force on CR and WR to assist the RPF. “However, the two companies are out of Mumbai currently, deployed on election duty in other states,” said the officer, adding “Now, 200 home guards have been deployed to assist the RPF on CR and 220 on WR.”