Public apathy blamed for crime on trains

As the safety of women commuting on suburban trains has come under public glare following the recent rape of a young girl in a rail compartment, the railway police chief blames public apathy as the main reason for widespread crime on trains.

"Why can't the public co-operate with the railway police? Why do people give alms to beggars? Why do women encourage hawkers by buying the wares they sell on trains? Why should schoolchildren without tickets be allowed to travel? Or why should women think it is okay for school boys to be allowed to travel in ladies' compartments?"

In an interview to Gulf News at his office in Byculla, an exasperated Railway Police Commissioner, Rakesh Maria, spoke defensively of the pro-active role that his department played in maintaining safety in trains, only to be bogged down by other factors, including the poor infrastructure to keep criminals at bay.

At least three to four million people commute daily to their place of work by suburban trains in Mumbai, and women form more than 30 per cent of the travelling public.

As the backbone of the city's transport, rail authorities are always under fire when things go wrong. In a country where railway lines are open from all sides, unlike abroad where such areas are protected, any individual can enter the railway premises easily without bothering to buy a ticket.

And these include beggars, hawkers, eunuchs, urchins, drug addicts and anti-social elements.

Just checking ticketless people in trains, platforms or when they go out of stations is not enough, but the entire problem of stopping intruders, including ticketless passengers, into railway stations has to be stopped, said Maria.

What has been going on for years cannot be controlled overnight, though the ongoing raids and operations to control crime helps a lot, he says, though the constraints that the Railway Protection Force faces are not always heard by the rail administration.

This year, until July, the railway police registered 60,280 cases. At least 400 people have been arrested daily and sent to jail in recent days.

However, "the Arthur Road Jail authorities have told us not to send any more offenders as they have no space. So we sent them to Thane jail which is also full to accommodate any more inmates," he said.

That is why it is important for the railways to have their own lock-ups and mode of transport. "The beggars' court works once a week and till then, where do we keep the beggars," he asked.

There are courts at Bandra, Kurla and Kalyan, and transporting the offenders by trains is difficult, especially if the beggars are severely handicapped. And after all the trouble taken to bring the offenders before the court, they could be let off with a fine of Rs 10!

"A severe punishment is certainly required," he said. And in the case of three female beggars who were arrested, "they have now hired advocates and their case is still going on in court".

As for children loitering on the rail premises and travelling ticketless on trains, the situation is the same. The police have picked up around 9,460 youngsters during the year, but now the Children's Home in Dongri "has told us not to send any more kids".

In recent days, Maria has been trying to making his point clear that there has not been a single incident of crime in the ladies compartments for the last two years ever since armed constables were deployed from 8.00pm to 8.00am.

"What happened to the girl on August 14 was very unfortunate and what is to be equally condemned as much as the rape is the inaction of the five men on the train who witnessed the horrific act," he said.

"If it was a case of one constable and five rapists on the train, that one policeman would have been hung by the public."