Punjab on high alert: Lone baggage scanner at Ludhiana railway station lying defunct

A senior security officer on the condition of anonymity said that the baggage scanner was of no use as the railway station had multiple entry points

While Punjab is on high alert following the busting of four terror modules by the state police, the only baggage scanner at the Ludhiana railway station is lying defunct.

A lady cop was seen sitting next to the defunct baggage checking machine. When asked about why the baggage was not being checked, she expressed her helplessness stating that the machine was lying defunct. (Gurpreet Singh/HT PHOTO)

The cops throughout the state are on their toes since the tiffin box blast in Amritsar last month. Moreover, Ludhiana is among the busiest railway stations in the state with over 100 trains plying from or through this station daily.

The X-ray baggage scanner was installed to detect suspicious things such as arms, ammunition, explosives or any other illegal substance inside the luggage of the commuters.

The station has three entry points but only one baggage scanner at the entry towards platform number 1, which has not been functional for the past few days putting the security of the passengers at risk.

Though the railway authorities claim to be holding high-level meetings with senior officials of Government Reserve Police and Railway Police Force after high alert was declared in Punjab for the scaling of forces here, the security lapses were found at the prime entry point of the railway station during a reality check done by Hindustan Times on Monday.

No frisking, checking at entry point

The passengers were seen entering the platform without their luggage being checked, leaving security to the mercy of God. No manual checking of the luggage was being done, either.

A lady cop was seen sitting next to the defunct baggage checking machine. When asked about why the baggage was not being checked, she expressed her helplessness stating that the machine was lying defunct.

Ludhiana railway station director Tarun Kumar said that the orders to fix the machine had already been given to the maintenance team: “It will be made functional soon. We have door frame metal detectors installed at all the three entry points and our security teams are doing random checking of the passengers.”

He added that a meeting for the safety of the railway station was held with the additional inspector general and superintendent of police of the GRP last week.

“We are regularly holding the security meetings. Another meeting with the MC officials and traffic police was also done where we requested them to get the encroachment done by the illegal vendors at the entry and exit points removed. Traffic cops have been requested to not let the rickshaws and three wheelers stand at the gates as some anti-social elements may take advantage of the rush there”, added the officer.

‘Baggage scanner practically useless’

Surprisingly a senior security officer on the condition of anonymity said that the baggage scanner was of no use since the station was not enclosed and had openings from many sides.

Meanwhile, DSP, GRP, Balram Rana said that night patrolling on the tracks was a routine affair now. “We have increased night patrolling and our teams are also manning nakas at the outer areas daily,” said the DSP.

Inspector Jaskaran Singh, GRP, said that the station remained under 24/7 CCTV surveillance as over 85 cameras had been installed here.