The Tamil Nadu Railway Police, which introduced the helpline
service (99625 00500) last December to lend a hand to rail passengers
in
distress, has proposed to fine-tune the facility so as to curb
trafficking of
children and women by trains and rehabilitate abandoned mentally
retarded people wandering in and around the railway stations.
Now police manning the Chennai-based helpline pass on the alert
received through
the helpline from the public to constables travelling in the trains
for
appropriate action. Though this novel facility receives a good number
of calls
every day — either in alerting the police on the movement of
suspicious
persons in trains or calling the law-enforcers for help — Inspector-
General of
Police (Railways) G. Uma Ganapathi Sastry wants to popularise it
further so that train travellers can be helped in a better fashion.
“We could even arrest a couple of suspects and antisocial elements
after
receiving alerts from the public. So this service should be
popularised in a big
way after refining the facility,†Mr. Sastry, who had camped here
for regular inspection, said.
In the modified system, the Short Messaging Service (SMS) from
passengers
seeking police assistance to retrieve baggage lost during journey
between
particular points will be instantly forwarded to the Railway Police
Inspectors in that region.
“If a baggage is found to be missing at Tirunelveli railway station,
Inspectors of two railway stations on both sides of Tirunelveli will
receive the
SMS on the theft or necessary information about the missing baggage.
Moreover,
all stations en route will get an alert. When the crime is of serious
nature,
such as robbery, accident, suicide etc., the information will
automatically
reach the Superintendent of Police concerned and also the Inspector
General of
Police so that necessary action can be taken within no time,†said
Mr. Sastry,
He is the one who conceived the value-addition of the helpline as the
State
witnesses an average of 1,600 deaths on rail tracks either in
accidents or by suicide by falling in front of the trains.
NGO help
With the assistance of non-governmental organisations such as â
€˜Banyan’ and
‘Tulir,’ Mr. Shastry has planned to train his personnel in such a
way so
that they can considerably reduce the train accidents and suicides on
rail
tracks and completely prevent trafficking of women and children
through trains.
“Moreover, this training and the association with NGOs will also
help us in
rehabilitating the abandoned mentally retarded persons wandering in
and around
railway stations,†said Mr. Sastry, who plans to popularize the
service through posters, handbills and other means.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/10/stories/2008081059800600.htm
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