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RT-PCR test kits stolen from Ludhiana railway station
A carton of RT-PCR tests and assorted medical equipment was stolen from the Ludhiana Railway Station on Thursday evening; however, none of the 100 CCTV cameras at the station captured the theft
A carton of RT-PCR tests and assorted medical equipment was stolen from the Ludhiana Railway Station on Thursday evening. However, none of the 100 CCTV cameras at the station captured the theft.
The stolen wares belonged to a team of the health department that has been stationed opposite the entrance gate of the station, near Platform 1, for over a month to offer free Covid tests to passengers.
The camera installed over the health team’s desk was facing away and therefore failed to capture the incident. “The camera is either focused towards passengers coming down the escalators or from the opposite side. It is not a 360 degree camera,” said a security official, requesting anonymity.
“The health team should not have left their possessions unmanned. It is possible that a passenger could have mistakenly taken the box with their luggage,” the security official said.
Surprised over the lack of leads, a member of the health team, said, “It is surprising that none of the CCTV cameras recorded the theft as we are stationed right at the front gate, which one would think would be well monitored.”
GRP, RPF out of sync
Both the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) have installed a few cameras at the same locations at the railway station, which has led to overlapping of footage and wastage of resources.
“Director general of police (DGP) Sanjeev Kalra has directed the GRP to change the locations of the overlapping cameras,” a security official said.
An official privy to the matter said, “The RPF installed the cameras without consulting the GRP. The SP has now directed us to replace the defunct cameras with the extra cameras. The GRP does not have enough funds to purchase new devices.”
GRP superintendent of police Amandeep Kaur said, ‘The railways have already installed enough cameras at the railway station, but to secure more locations, the position of a few cameras will be changed and defunct cameras will be replaced soon.”
The cameras at the railway station have been installed by the GRP, RPF, local police and parking authorities.
Special railway magistrate conducts surprise checking
A surprise inspection was conducted by the special railway magistrate of Punjab, Munish Garg, at the Ludhiana railway station on Friday.
According to the officials ₹14,100 in fine was recovered from 40 offenders by the checking team which included officials from Government Railway Police, Patiala, Railway Protection Force, Ludhiana, Jalandhar police personnel and three members of the magistrate staff.
The team held the illegal vendors along with those who were found crossing the railway tracks, offenders of chain pulling and those who were found drunk at the railway station or trains.
While the checking team held 14 new offenders on Friday at the Ludhiana railway station and recovered a total of ₹1,800 fine from them; 26 old cases were also disposed of and a fine of ₹12,300 was imposed.
A senior official stated that the SRM usually conducts the checking inside the trains, but due to the pandemic, it was done at the station.
Another official stated that the checking team would conduct surprise checking at some other railway station post Ludhiana on Friday itself.
Meanwhile SRM said that instructions have been given to the railway security to keep an eye on the violators. “Many people travel without ticket, which ultimately is a loss to railways and also a serious offence. Our teams pay surprise visits and catch such violators with the help of local officials,” stated Garg.
