In what could be termed a lackadaisical approach on part of the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF), a 30-year-old Chartered Accountant from Kalyan, who was allegedly witness to an armed druggie threatening commuters at Byculla railway station, failed to get any help even after calling the railway helpline numbers.

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Darshana Deshmukh works as a chartered accountant with a reputed firm at Elphinstone, and usually takes a train to Byculla to board Kalyan-bound train to reach home. On Thursday at around 9pm, Deshmukh was on her way back when she saw a man armed with sickle and threatening commuters.

"I dialled the helpline numbers, and was assured that police will be reaching the next stations — Sandhurst Road and Masjid Bunder — to nab the culprit. But when I again dialled the operator, I was told that no policeman answered their calls," said Deshmukh.

"Later I dialled the special helpline number 182, and an operator who identified herself as Jaya, instead of sending help, assured me that the train will be empty once it reaches CSMT railway station and there won't be any attack from the druggie," said Deshmukh.

"If this is the response, the commuters will be at the receiving end. So I took to Twitter to bring the incident to the Railways' attention," she said. Deshmukh alleged that she was also told that checking CCTV camera footage is a time-consuming procedure.

After the incident, the Ministry of Railways tweeted: The seriousness of the incidence has been reviewed at Railway Board level. Suitable instructions are being issued to take action in such cases. The process of examination of CCTV footage on regular basis will be put in place (sic).

RAILWAYS’ TWEET

  • The seriousness of the incidence has been reviewed at Railway Board level. Suitable instructions are being issued to take action in such cases. The process of examination of CCTV footage on regular basis will be put in place (sic).