4 rly police stations sanctioned for city, 3 for Konkan Rly

The Government Railway Police (GRP) force in Mumbai is set to receive reinforcements after 25 years. Four more railway police stations will be established at a cost of INR 78 crore per year, with an additional 878 men and officers joining the force. The increase in personnel is needed to improve crime detection on railway lines and to make commuters feel safer. The GRP commissioner also highlighted the need for more investigation into the numerous deaths that occur on the tracks each year. Additionally, three police stations will be established on the Konkan Railway route, as current policing is inadequate for preventing and detecting crime on the tracks.

MUMBAI: After a 25-year freeze, the city’s Government Railway Police (GRP) force is finally set to get more reinforcements. The home department has sanctioned four more railway police stations at Kurla Terminus, Ambarnath, Asangaon and Bhayander at a yearly cost of ₹78 crore. Eight hundred and seventy-eight more men and officers will join the force.

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The home department held a meeting on Tuesday to sanction these police stations. “The railway police need them for effective crime detection on railway lines and to make commuters feel safe,” said additional chief secretary (home) Sujata Saunik.

Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) or Kurla Terminus has emerged as a major passenger hub for outstation trains. Currently, the Kurla railway police station looks after security at the terminus although Kurla station is about half a kilometre away from it. Recently, when a major fire broke out in a part of Kurla Terminus, personnel from the Railway Protection Force (which comes under the central government) had to be called in to manage the crowd.

“With the steep increase in the number of passengers at LTT, there is a need for more security,” said an official. “Besides, there are regular passenger complaints about fleecing by auto rickshaw and taxi drivers. These can come down with the presence of more police personnel at the terminus.”

Mumbai has 17 stations that are manned by the GRP, which is under the jurisdiction of the state government. “Our strength has not increased since 1999,” said GRP commissioner Ravindra Shisve. “LTT is a major terminus and requires a full police station. Besides, the population of Mumbai, the railway lines and stations have increased. We have nearly 2,800 persons dying every year on the tracks, which call for proper investigation into whether these were accidental deaths, suicides or homicides.”

The government has also sanctioned three police stations on Konkan Railway at Roha, Ratnagiri and Kankavli, the first GRP stations on this route. “Currently, policing on this 447-km-long track with 43 railway stations is done by the district police stations of Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg,” said a senior IPS officer. “These police stations are several kilometres away from the railway stations and are practically irrelevant for the prevention and detection of crime happening on the tracks.”

The officer said that railway policing required quick information on crimes on the platforms or in the trains and called for immediate police action, failing which criminals, victims, witnesses to the crime and the bogies where the crime took place moved away, sometimes outside state boundaries, making detection and conviction difficult. “Therefore, the Konkan Railway route totally needs railway policing through the three proposed GRP police stations at Roha, Ratnagiri and Kankavli,” he said. “The stations will have a strength of 418 men and officers and will require funding of ₹38 crore per annum.”