After stampede at Elphinstone Road in Mumbai, WR inducts 232 personnel to boost security

The Central Railway inducted 251 MSSC personnel’s in November

Almost three months after the Elphinstone Road railway station stampede in which 23 people were killed, the Western Railway will deploy 232 personnel from the Maharashtra State Security Corporation (MSSC) to its 37 railway stations. It will also induct 97 women home guards for security of women passengers.

23 people were killed in the stampede.

It comes after railway minister Piyush Goyal directed the railways to take help from the state government to improve security.

The 232 MSSC personnel will coordinate with Railway Protection Force (RPF) officials. One Quick Response Team (QRT) will be deployed at railway stations in case of any untoward incident.

“Railway police officials trained the MSSC personnel for two days. They were trained with the different aspects of safety and security at stations.” said AK Gupta, general manager of WR. RPF officials will be allowed access to CCTV cameras for crowd management.

Meanwhile, the Central Railway inducted 251 MSSC personnel’s in November. They were deployed at the entry and exit points, foot overbridges and on platforms.

“The railway police are understaffed. This makes monitoring the stations and foot overbridges extremely difficult. MSSC personnel have helped in tackling crowds during peak hours,” said a railway official, who didn’t wish to be named.