Chennai: In order to enhance security systems to a more advanced level and check untoward incidents due to high inflow of passengers at railway stations, the railway protection force (RPF), with the assistance of government railway police (GRP), is putting up a three-tier security cordon system in place. The new system will be operational by June-end in Chennai Central station. The advanced security cover will include quick reaction teams, peripheral teams that include RPF personnel employed at the outermost station entrances, parking area steel barricades installed to streamline passenger queues and introduction of a two-entry system at night, said Mr K.K Ashraff, senior divisional security commissioner, Chennai division, southern railway.
At present, there is a situation where platforms are very crowded and there are several unauthorised entry points, which are to be either plugged or kept under constant watch.Currently, there are 1,200 RPF personnel in Chennai division and with the three-tier security in place, the number will go up to 1,700 with more women personnel, he said. In the current access control plan, vehicles entering into the station premises and also to the parking lots are not subjected to any security checks and persons approaching and entering the station are also not subjected to in-depth surveillance, observed an RPF study that was conducted recently.
The study also cited that slots are not identified for parking of vehicles and non-parking areas are not clearly demarcated. Also, a large number of labourers are engaged by contractors of outsourced services without proper police verification, issue of identity cards or uniforms. For the past six months - November 2014 to April 2015 - there were 311 incidents of retrieval of passenger belongings by the RPF worth over '45 lakh that included securing unclaimed articles, cash, gold, silver, laptops and cellphones. During the same period, there were also nine cases of seizure of smuggled items that included three cases of drugs, three cases of gold/silver items, two cases of Indian currency and a case of red sanders by RPF and GRP personnel, totally worth over '2.5 crore.
