Special RPF squad helping curb crime: Central Railway

The special crime prevention and detection squad set up by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) of the Central Railway (CR) has helped in curbing thefts and other cases in Mumbai division, a senior official has said.

The special team, comprising 24 jawans, was set up at the end of 2018 with an objective to control crime against passengers and to keep a watch on their belongings.

"The squad works as a shadow team to keep surveillance on the known and previously arrested criminals and their activities," CR chief spokesperson Sunil Udasi said on Wednesday.

He said the number of crime against passengers came down in three months- to 1,821 in March this year from 2,140 in January- which shows the effectiveness of the squad.

According to him, the detection of crime has also improved.

"The number of cases detected in January, February and March stood at 47, 60 and 70 respectively. The number of cases detected by the team has gone up from 30 per cent cases in 2018 (January to March) to 39 per cent in the same period in 2019," Udasi said.

The squad undertakes combing operations and conducts flash checks at various stations during peak hours in coordination with the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Commercial Department of the Central Railway.

"It also analyses the pattern of crime to identify the most affected sections and conducts surprise checks to ensure alertness of duty staff," he added.