MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS(SHRI K. H. MUNIYAPPA)
(a) The number of theft of passengers’ belongings reported in trains during the years 2009 and 2010 (January to September) are as under:-
Year No. of cases reported
2009 8658
2010 7947
(Upto
Septe
mber)
(b) to (d): There is no provision in the rules for compensation for loss / theft / damage of goods unless a railway employee has booked the luggage and given a receipt thereof to the passenger or unless it is proved that the loss was due to negligence or misconduct on the part of any of its employee.
(e): Prevention of crime, registration of cases, their investigation and maintenance of law and order in Railway premises as well as on running trains are the statutory responsibility of the State Police, which they discharge through Government Railway Police (GRP) of the State concerned. As such the cases of crime on Railways are reported to, registered and investigated by the Govt. Railway Police.
However, to provide better security to the travelling passengers in trains and in passenger areas, Railway Protection Force is deployed to escort important trains to effectively supplement the efforts of the State Governments in controlling crime on the Railways.
The following measures are being taken for security of the passengers:-
1. 1275 trains are escorted by RPF daily on an average, in addition to 2200 trains escorted by Government Railway Police of different States.
2. An Integrated Security System consisting of electronic surveillance of vulnerable stations through CCTV Camera Network, access control, Anti-sabotage checks costing Rs. 353 crores has been sanctioned to strengthen surveillance mechanism over 202 vulnerable Railway stations.
3. Regular coordination meetings are held with State Police at all levels to ensure proper registration and investigation of crime by Government Railway Police (GRP).
4. An amendment in Railway Protection Force Act to enable RPF to deal with the passenger related offences more effectively is under active examination and it is being forwarded to the Ministry of Law & Justice for further examination/approval.
