Make electronic FIR filing available to passengers: Rajnath to Railway Ministry

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday asked the Ministry of Railways to look into the suggestion if the online system of filing FIRs could be integrated into the Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems (CCTNS) system assisting railway passengers to lodge complaint electronically.

Addressing the media, Singh elaborated about the proposal offered by the Home Ministry to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and said: "We are taking a step further to ensure that people travelling through trains face no problem when it comes to file an FIR. At present, there is no facility for passengers to register an FIR online and if any sort of mis-happening occurred while travelling then a passenger is required to visit a nearby police station to get an FIR registered, which is a long process itself. And even then there is no guarantee that the victim would get justice."

Singh further said that the railway network is very huge and there are times when the train has to ply from leftist and insurgency-affected areas. It is important to have a better online FIR facility system.

"There cannot be one single formula to meet these challenges; we need 'theatre-specific' SOPs (Standard operating procedure) to avoid any untoward incident and to guide police personnel on how to act in such situations," he asserted.

"The Ministry of Home Affairs is ready to provide full possible support in this direction to the Railway Ministry," Singh added.