Data showed that 29 persons were arrested in the southern railway zone, with 2 pertaining to assault, 9 of rape and 19 of other crimes.
Up until August this year, the Southern Railway had registered the most cases for crimes against women, showed data filed by the Railway Ministry in Parliament. But it is to be noted that regular train services have been suspended since March 25 when the country went into lockdown, and are yet to resume, with only Shramik Special trains and IRCTC’s special trains functioning.
Data showed that 29 persons were arrested in the southern railway zone, with 2 pertaining to assault, 9 of rape and 19 of other crimes. The Railway Protection Force reportedly attributed this to an increase in awareness.
A total of 117 persons were arrested in 2017, 121 in 2018 and 123 in 2019 for crimes against women in the Southern Railway. This was only second to Northern Railway, which saw 304 persons being arrested in 2017, 221 in 2018 and 255 in 2019 for crimes against women. Upto August, 46 persons were arrested in the Northern zone.
Principal chief security commissioner Birendra Singh told the Times of India that 99% of offenders are behind bars, and that the cases registered are high because of literacy level, whereas in some parts of the country they may hesitate to file a complaint. “Crimes like rape and assault are not (many in number). A majority of cases are of taking photographs and harassment,” he said.
In his answer to the Lok Sabha, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said that while an adequate number of Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel are available, more women have now been recruited for the safety of women passengers.
“Total 298 and 4078 women personnel have been empanelled for the post of Sub-Inspector and Constable respectively,” the answer stated. This is from the year 2018.
Southern Railway presently has more than 170 women personnel, and according to Birendra Singh, over 350 constables and 20 sub-inspectors will be joining in November. “Focus is to induct more women because the need for women safety has increased,” he told the newspaper.
Source: The News Minute