The RPF personeels will soon be seen in local trains in orer to catch theives.
In what is possibly the first time the Railway Protection Force (RPF) will be entering what has till now been the preserve of the state railway police, Central Railway's RPF unit will be patrolling trains to catch thieves.
In a decision taken late on Tuesday, it was decided that personnel from the anti-robbery unit of the RPF will be deploying uniformed as well as plainclothesman inside local trains from Wednesday evening.
This is after an analysis of theft cases for the month of April showed that a sizable number of cases happened inside local trains. "Of the 159 cases of theft registered in the month of April, about 40 per cent happened inside local trains. Therefore, we decided that something had to be done. These personnel will work based on intelligence and field inputs and will travel in trains," said Sachin Bhalode, senior divisional security commissioner, RPF, CR. Bhalode told dna that mobile phone theft is the top-most offence in the list, followed by purse and chain-snatching.
While this is a welcome relief for the passengers in Mumbai, the move might also bring the RPF in conflict with the railway police since theft — dealt with under section 379 of the Indian Penal Code — is a subject dealt by the state government.
"As of now cases under Section 379 are registered by the railway police and the RPF did not play any role in it. With the RPF, a paramilitary organisation under the railway ministry, also entering what is traditionally a policing job, there could be some friction," said an official.
It is also being seen as a part of the RPF's groundwork to transform itself into a true-blue policing force. The current railway dispensation led by minister Suresh Prabhu is keen that the RPF is given sole responsibility of policing the railway system along with the district police. "Currently it is a three-tier system which involves the district police, the railway police — both organs of the state government — and the RPF. The railways has moved a proposal to bring this to a two-tier system similar to what happens on Konkan Railway," explained an official.
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