The Railway Protection Force (RPF) was constituted under the RPF Act, 1957 by Government of India under the Ministry of Railways, for better protection and security of Railway property, to remove any obstruction in the movement of railway property and to do any other act conducive for better protection and security of railway property. RPF is empowered to deal with cases of crime against railway property under the provisions of Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1966. [RP (UP)Act]. RPF has also been entrusted with the responsibility of security of railway passenger area and railway passengers since 2004. The Force carries on an unrelenting fight against criminals in protecting railway passengers, passenger area and railway property, facilitate passenger travel and security, remains vigilant to prevent trafficking of women and children and take appropriate action to rehabilitate destitute children found in Railway areas. The force has the distinction of the central force with largest share of women (9%) in its ranks.
Achievements by RPF during 2023 ;
Operation “Rail Suraksha” – Under this operation, as per the mandate to safeguard railway property, RPF took legal action against crime involving railway property. During the year RPF registered 6312 cases of theft of railway property in which recovery of stolen railway property worth Rs. 12.48 crore was made with the arrest of 12099 offenders.
Action against touts under Operation “Upalabdh”:-Procurement of railway tickets for reserved accommodation has been a very tough task for the common man as the tickets were being cornered in bulk by the touts. Use of illegal software for cornering confirmed railway reservations online had adversely affected the availability of confirmed tickets to the common man. RPF has been undertaking intensive and continuous action against persons involved in touting (unauthorized carrying on of business of procuring & supply of railway tickets). Under this operation, 5544 touts were arrested and –5207 cases registered against them. This included more than 990 authorized agents of IRCTC using illegal means in cornering reserved tickets.
Rescue of children under Operation NanheFaristey:-RPF undertakes the noble cause of identifying and rescuing children in need of care & protection who are lost/separated from their family due to various reasons. RPF has played an important role in reuniting the children lost/separated due to several reasons from their family and rescued Children in need of care & protection who came in contact with Indian Railways. In this regard, an intensive drive viz. ‘NanheFaristey’ is being run on Indian Railways to rescue children in need of care and protection found in trains/railway station and this is showing remarkable results. During the year 11794 such children were rescued by RPF personnel.
Action against Human Trafficking under Operation AAHT –RPF, being the sentinels of the national carrier with a pan India reach, has its task cut out in nation’s fight against Human Trafficking. The force has launched an operation against Human Trafficking called “Operation AAHT”. In order to have an effective mechanism to avert the attempts of the Human traffickers, as per standard operating procedure issued in 2022, Anti Human Trafficking Units of RPF were made operational at the post level (Thana level) at more than 740 locations over the Indian Railways. During the year 1048 persons were rescued from the clutches of traffickers with arrest of 257 traffickers. RPF has signed an MoU with Association of Voluntary Action (a foundation of Nobel Laureate Sri Kailash Satyarthi) also known as BachpanBachaoAndolan on 06.05.2022 for association in capacity building of RPF & Railway men raid, rescue and sharing of information on Human Trafficking.
Mission “JeevanRaksha”: – There are incidents wherein passengers in hurry try to board/de-board a moving train, slip and fall with the risk of coming under the wheels of train. There are other instances where people under distress try to commit suicide by deliberately coming in front of a running train. Under this operation RPF personnel risking their own lives tries to rescue the lives of others. During the year, 3719 precious life were saved by RPF personnel.
Operation “NARCOS” :-Narcotics not only destroys the health of the youth, but they also damage the economy and wellbeing of the nation. RPF has been empowered to conduct search, seizure, and arrest under NDPS Act in 2019. In order to give focused attention to the drive against smuggling of Narcotics through rail, RPF has launched operation and succeeded in recovery of NDPS valued about Rs. 40.32 Crore
Luggage Retrieval and hand over under Operation “Amanat” – Many passengers forget to take all their belongings in a rush to board the train or leave the train/station. Under this operation RPF personnel help in securing such belongings and restore them to the rightful owner. Under this operation, RPF retrieved approximately 39091 luggage valued more than Rs. 54.43 Crore.
Operation ‘WILEP’:-Smuggling of Wildlife, animal parts and forest product is crime against nature. RPF has been alive to the issue and has taken stringent action under this operation against the smugglers involved in illegal trade of wildlife through railways. During the year 13 cases of illegal trade of restricted wild life were detected with arrest of 16 persons. RPF is continually working with WCCB and other stake holders in this area.
Operation ‘YatriSuraksha’ – RPF is on a relentless mission to secure passengers and their belongings. Operation YatriSuraksha was launched in 2022 to bring focus and urgency into the efforts of RPF in this direction. It is not only addressing security related grievances of passengers in real time by improving emergency response, but also work together with GRP for prevention and detection of passenger related offences.
Emergency Response
Under this initiative, RPF provides special attention towards the security and safe travel of passengers through the railways. RPF is also available on call through Toll Free number 139 (integrated with Emergency Response Support System No. 112) and other social media forums i.e. Twitter, facebook, Instagram, Koo etc.) round the clock to receive and resolve security and other grievances of passengers. During the year RPF attended to more than 2 lakh calls of persons in need of real time security related assistance during their journey.
Prevention and Detection of passenger crime
Under this Operation, RPF provides special attention towards the security and safe travel of passengers through the railways. Cases detected and persons arrested in cases of passenger related crime under IPC by RPF are handed over to GRP/Police for further legal action.
Security of Women under Operation MahilaSuraksha– ‘MeriSaheli initiative’ launched across Indian Railways network from October 2020 was further fine-tuned. The objective of this initiative is to provide safety and security to lady passengers, travelling alone or with minors in long distance trains for their entire journey from originating station to terminating station. Dedicated teams of lady RPF personnel have been formed across all zonal railways for its implementation. Presently, on an average, 230 teams are being deployed for this purpose covering more than 419 trains on an average daily across Indian Railways. In order to empower these MeriSaheli teams, a MeriSaheli IT module was operationalized in 2022 to help these teams identify target group of women passengers needing security and reassurance.
Safety and security of women passengers has been an important concern of Indian Railways. Other preventive measures have also been implemented to ensure security of lady passengers like train escorting by mixed crew of male and lady RPF staff, CCTV system at 866 stations and about 8057coaches, lady escorts in ladies’ special suburban trains, regular drives against unauthorized passengers in ladies’ coaches etc.
Providing help to pregnant women in child birth under Operation “Matrishakti”– RPF personnel, especially ladies RPF personnel, go out of the way to help pregnant women who go into labor during their train journeys, in childbirth under operation Matrishakti. During the year, lady personnel of RPF assisted in 206 such child births.
Assistance to sick, injured, specially able persons under Operation “SEWA”:
Under this operation RPF personnel assist the elderly citizens, women, physically disabled and sick/injured persons in their travel through trains and services associated therewith i.e. providing other amenities like Wheel Chairs, Stretcher, medical help, providing ambulance, medicine and infant food etc. During the year, more than 57079 such persons were assisted by RPF.
Efforts to enhance safety of rail operations under Operation ‘Sanraksha’:
This operation is launched for enhancing the safety of passengers. Action is being taken against the criminals involved in pelting stone on the moving train, carrying inflammable or crackers in train etc. During the year 2898 cases of stone pelting on moving trains were registered by RPF followed by arrest of 1233 persons. Several awareness drives are being made by RPF using different means to educate the residents near to railway track. In this drive more than 370 persons carrying inflammable/crackers in trains were also arrested.
Deployment during assemble elections under Operation ‘Janaadesh’-
RPF contingents deployed in states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram assisted in ensuring free and fair elections and to stop any unfortunate incidents during assembly/parliamentary elections.
Rescue of adults in need of care and protection under Operation Dignity:
Under this operation, rescue of adults including women in need of care and protection who come in contact with railways like run away, abandoned, drug addict, destitute, abducted, left behind, missing, those needing medical assistance, fallen down, mentally disoriented is being done. During 2023 approx. 3492such persons were rescued.
Providing assistance to state police and other Law Enforcement Agencies in apprehending suspects making good their escape by trains under Operation Rail Prahari
RPF personnel have distinct and unique advantages due to their strategic positioning at major stations, their pan India reach to the nook and corner of the country through the rail network, unity of their command and supervision and quick response to emergency. This comes in handy when state police of a particular state finds its suspects escaping through trains currently moving through some other state. Further, many suspects escaping the long arm of law get trapped in the net of RPF during their routine checking protocol. Under Operation Rail Prahari, RPF uses its USP in assisting other police forces/ Law Enforcement Agencies nab suspects fleeing by trains. During 2023, 493 such suspects were apprehended by RPF and handed over to concerned agencies for offences committed by them outside railway area.
Railway Protection Force is not only working hard to secure the railways from criminals and forces inimical to the nation, but works hard to fulfil its mission of “सेवाहीसंकल्प” helping those in need to realize its motto of “यशोलभस्व” or “Attain honour”. The Force will continue to use new methodology, technology, tools and practices to enhance its reach and effectiveness for the cause of the security of the nation and its citizens.
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