Mumbai: To end crime, GRP suggests, turn off the fans

Worried about the menace of thieves who may target passengers waiting at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) after midnight for their late night or early morning trains, the railway police has a unique suggestion: To switch off the fans! The fact that fans are switched on all night is believed to be the reason why passengers prefer to spend their nights asleep on the cramped premises of the station, enduring the hard stone floor and risking their properties being stolen by crooks. And since catching the culprits is clearly impossible at a railway station teeming with policemen and CCTV cameras, the only solution is to switch off the fans. This, at the very least, would mean the passengers don't stay back for their early morning trains, meaning fewer crimes!

The Government Railway Police (GRP), in a letter to the Central Railway, a copy of which is available with DNA, says, "The ceiling fans on the platforms and concourse area on both local and main line sections are kept switched on through the night. This is the reason why outstation passengers, who need to catch trains during late night or early morning hours, stay back at CSMT along with their luggage. But once the passengers doze off, unscrupulous elements take advantage of the situation and steal their belongings."

If the fans are switched off after local train services halt for the night, the GRP expects passengers would be dissuaded from staying back to catch an early morning outstation train.

Among other changes proposed by the GRP is to have all mobile phone charging points at one common area at the station, so it becomes easier for the cops to keep an eye on who is using the charging points. Currently, there are chargers at four different locations. As per an RTI reply received by activist Shakeel Shaikh in 2018, an average of 89 mobile thefts was reported by the GRP every day, up from just 3 thefts a day in 2013. In all, 59,904 phones were stolen in six years, worth Rs 99.47 crore in all.

There are also certain blind spots at the station, especially on the suburban platforms towards the Kalyan end. Here, due to lack of sufficient sunlight, it becomes easier for the criminals to mug passengers. And since the CCTV cameras don't catch certain spots along these stretches, there is a need for CR to address it immediately, it was felt.

Moreover, additional ticket checkers are needed, especially during late nights, to check people loitering around the station premises. Railways officials feel this could instill fear among those present with malicious intent.

Meanwhile, the Railways officials are also busy beautifying the CSMT station, at a cost of Rs 41 crore, and making airport-like waiting rooms for outstation passengers here. The roofs and walls of the UNESCO world heritage structure are also being