According to a senior source, the Government Railway Police (GRP) would station more than 1,200 uniformed officers on platforms and in women’s compartments of suburban trains between the hours of 9 pm and 6 am to protect female travellers.
The action follows numerous instances of sexual harassment of female riders on Mumbai’s suburban trains. In the last month, there have been two reports of sexual assault and harassment of women on moving trains in the city. By detaining the alleged perpetrators, the Railway Police put an end to both incidents.
According to the police official on Tuesday, the GRP has developed a strategy for the protection of female passengers throughout their train ride, particularly during the night and early morning hours.
Between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., uniformed personnel would be stationed in the women’s compartments, he added.
The official said that employees of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) would collaborate with GRP troops and be chosen from the GRP, Home Guards, and Maharashtra Security Force.
The extensive Mumbai suburban railway network is made up of the Belapur-Nerul-Kharkopar (Ulwe), Central, Western, Harbour, and Trans-Harbour lines. He said that the Railway runs 1,041 trains on these lines at night.
According to the source, the GRP has decided to deploy 640 people on trains and more than 600 on platforms in order to ensure the protection of female passengers and prevent any unpleasant situations.
He advised female passengers to immediately phone the railway hotline at 1512 if they discover that there are no security officers on board females carriages.
He said that police get 700 to 800 calls every day. Since January 1st of this year, the GRP has received more over 1.58 lakh calls on the hotline, of which 13,921 were requests for assistance or information.
He said that the GRP responded to each and every call and dealt with every problem.
According to the official, the police responded to these calls by registering 58 severe offenses and resolving 56 cases.
“Women commuters’ safety is our top concern. The GRP would ensure that no women compartment goes unattended with the new strategy, Railway Police Commissioner Ravindra Shisve said PTI.
He said that the GRP has an appropriate number of employees and that this number would soon rise to meet the demands.
