WR's RPF unit rescues record number of runaway children

The Railway Protection Force (RPF), recently entrusted with the job of rescuing runaway children from trains and railway premises by the railway ministry and the ministry of women and child development, seems to have hit the road running.

The RPF unit of Western Railway's Mumbai division, which rescued 63 boys and 34 girls in 2015, managed to clear those numbers handsomely between January and July this year. Till July, it rescued 148 boys and 72 girls from stations and trains between Churchgate and Surat, the outer limits of its jurisdiction. This is a rise of 126% over the previous year for the Force. Officers said that with another five months to go, the numbers would look even more robust.

"This is thanks to training that the RPF got from the National Commission on Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). A team had come to Mumbai this January and an exhaustive training module was held at the YMCA in Mumbai Central. Now, this team of RPF personnel is training others and that's why our results are so good. There is still a long way to go and our efforts will continue," explained Anand Vijay Jha, senior divisional security commissioner, RPF, WR.

It was in March 2015 that the railway ministry, in collaboration with the ministry of women and child development and NCPCR, issued a Standing Operating Procedure (SOP) for this purpose. Twenty large stations across the country were chosen for this SOP. In Mumbai, CST and Mumbai Central, both large termini, were chosen.

The RPF on October 7 last year was awarded the 'Service of Excellence' award by the union ministry of home affairs for the work done by the paramilitary unit in rescuing children who had run away from their homes and landed up at railway stations.

RPF's rescuing act

2013: 4,658 minors
2014: 4,448 minors
2015: 7,044 minors
(Figures are all-India)

Nominated stations for child-rescue SOP

New Delhi
Old Delhi Jn
Hazrat Nizamuddin
Anand Vihar Terminus
Mumbai Central
CST, Mumbai
Howrah
Sealdah
New Jalpaigudi
Ranchi
Chennai Central
Chennai Egmore
Lucknow/NR
Lucknow/NER
Guwahati
Bangalore City
Patna
Varanasi Cantt.
Secunderabad
Nagpur