Railway police to crack down on bhajan groups in Mumbai

Complaints filed by commuters on the newly launched government railway police’s (GRP) web-based application ‘Pratisaad’ has paved the way for a drive to be conducted against groups that sing bhajans and create nuisance in local trains

Complaints filed by commuters on the newly launched government railway police’s (GRP) web-based application ‘Pratisaad’ has paved the way for a drive to be conducted against groups that sing bhajans and create nuisance in local trains. The GRP will now conduct a joint meeting with the railway protection force (RPF) and plan a joint crackdown on such groups.

Pratisaad, which was launched on Thursday, mean has received around 30 responses from commuters, with many of them checking its efficiency, officials said.

“People appreciated the effort and also lodged complaints against bhajan groups in train and other issues like the trains being late. We have decided to initiate action against the bhajan groups with the help of the RPF,” said Madhukar Pandey, GRP commissioner.

Adding about the complaints, the GRP officials said that most of the complaints were from the harbour line of central railway and the trains were Panvel-bound.

Railway police officials said that most bhajan groups sing and play music in second class compartments during the evening while travelling back home.

The joint teams of the GRP and the RPF will apprehend such groups and book them for nuisance under the provisions of the Railway Act. The Railway police will conduct the drive on all the three lines of local suburban section.

Officials said that they responded to persons who sent them test complaints to check if there were any glitches in the setup.

One of the important features of the application is that it has been linked with the Whatsapp messenger group of the GRP and hence any complaint made via Pratisaad will reflect on the internal group of the GRP officers.

The WhatsApp group has officials from the railway police control room along with the senior inspectors of the 17 railway police stations that cover the local suburban section along with other senior officers. Soon after a complaint is received, the control room and the concerned senior inspector will get in touch with the complainant via phone.

The commuters can lodge their complaints on Pratisaad via helpline.mumbairlypolice.gov.in which takes the complainant directly to that page. The link is also available on the website of Mumbai railway police. The police have made separate categories for woman complaints and other commuter’s complaints.