Suspicious activities in Metro may put you behind bars

Your suspicious activities in the Metro or station premises can attract a visit to the police station as the Delhi Police have started random checking of passengers.

Your suspicious activities in the Metro or station premises can attract a visit to the police station as the Delhi Police have started random checking of passengers. According to the Delhi Police, passengers who are seen roaming for a long time in Metro stations are now being picked up for verification under the scheme called 'Roko-Toko'.

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The Delhi Police, which launched the scheme last year, have already taken 4,188 passengers to the police station for verification which helped them in busting nearly 50 gangs of pickpockets.

“This scheme acts as a deterrent as many a times pickpockets purchase tokens and roam from one station to another. Such suspicious passengers are taken to the nearest police station and we prepare their database. We also check whether that passenger has any previous criminal record. We detain such passengers if they are unable to give any satisfactory answer about their presence at the Metro station,” a senior Delhi Police officer said.

Sources said, sometimes the police personnel scan live footage of CCTV cameras installed at Metro stations and pick up suspicious passengers. “We have verified 4,188 passengers in 2012 and the drive will continue as this has helped us in bringing down the number of thefts in Metro,” Sanjay Bhatia, DCP (railways), said.

“We have caught 83 pickpockets in 2012 and a majority of them were caught during these random checks,” Bhatia added.

A senior police officer said that after the Delhi Metro began its services, pick-pockets have shifted from targeting passengers in buses to those in the Metro trains.

“With most pickpockets are already behind bars, the difference can be gauged from the Pragati Maidan Metro station during last year's trade fair. In 2011, the number of complaints were 55 which came down to six in 2012,” the officer added.

The Delhi Police have also tightened the noose on drunk passengers as well and have started conducting regular checks inside trains to catch those misbehaving with co-passengers.

In 2011, the Delhi Police had caught 107 drunk passengers but in 2012 (till December 11) the number has gone up to 527.