E-Paper
Ferozepur division of Railways: Chain pulling, gate dashing incidents on rise post Covid
Since trains started operating normally after relaxation in Covid restrictions, the incidents of chain pulling and gate dashing are on rise in the Ferozpur Division of the Northern Railways
Since trains started operating normally after relaxation in Covid restrictions, the incidents of chain pulling and gate dashing are on rise in the Ferozpur Division of the Northern Railways.
As many as 619 people have been arrested by railway police till October this year for pulling the chain and halting the train without a valid reasons.
Due to fewer trains operationing amid the pandemic last year, 60 persons were arrested by the railways for illegally pulling the chains in the trains. However, in 2019, 146 people were arrested.
Similarly, the cases of gate dashing have also increased this year as the railways arrested a total 93 persons for the offence till October. A total of 65 people were apprehended for gate dashing last year and in 146 in 2019.
Railway security forces in the Ferozpur Division moreover arrested seven people for pelting stones at the trains till October this year.
In order to curb such incidents, a special drive has been initiated by the railways through which people residing near the railway lines are being educated about the punishment for these crimes.
Joint teams of Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police are conducting patrolling in the sensitive and vulnerable areas near the railway lines and also the security forces have been permanently deployed with the most targeted trains. Scrutiny through the CCTV cameras installed near the railway barriers and at the railway stations is being done to keep an eye on the suspicious people and arrest the accused of gate dashing.
According to the officials, mostly rickshaw pullers, cyclists, two-wheel drivers and three wheelers try to cross the railway barriers while they are closed for the trains to pass by. The railway officials in a press statement said that commuters in trains should only resort to chain pulling in emergency or unavoidable situations.
