Title - Railway officials push for better coordination

Mumbai: Senior railway officials want to make it mandatory for GRP constables, deputed in ladies compartments during late night/early morning hours, to first report to the guard or motorman before boarding a train.

The constables will also be asked to share personal details, including name and mobile number, with the guard on duty and the same will be noted in a register. This will ensure that the constables’ work schedule is kept under watch, they are strictly on duty between 8.30 pm and 6.30 am and refrain from “sleeping while on duty”.

“If this is made a standard procedure, it will deter GRP constables from oversleeping at stations and prevent dereliction of duty,” said a senior WR official, while referring to the incident where a constable, Devendra Shinde, overslept at Churchgate station and failed to patrol a ladies compartment on Saturday.

Railway officials have asked for a thorough investigation to ascertain whether the constable was really sleeping at the station or he was missing from the railway precinct.

A top railway official said that sleeping on duty was uncalled for. “Even WR staffers get only three to four hours gap to take rest (from 1 am to 5 am). After 5 am, every railway official on duty has to sign the roster and report for job. There is strict discipline, especially when it comes to motorman or guard,” the senior official said.

“We plan to approach senior GRP officials and make it compulsory for every constable to meet the guard and motorman before boarding the train. When they exchange mobile numbers, it can be handy during an emergency situation,” he said. He further stated that in case of any attack in a compartment, the GRP constable can call up the guard and bring the train to a halt. “Else, he can relay the message through the guard to the control room/next station and ask for reinforcements,” he stated. “The guard or motorman can also call the constables in case of any crisis situation.”

The official said that if there was proper co-ordination between railway staffers and police, incidents like the attack on the nurse can be averted in future. “We are also willing to give assistance to the GRP in form of funds to tighten the security for women passengers,” a top WR official said.

GRP surveillance on trains is also supported by home guards, who are deployed at stations to keep a vigil on platforms and also keep an eye on ladies compartments every time a train halts at a station for few seconds, sources said.

Senior officials with GRP said there’s a proper mechanism in place to check whether the night escort staff remains present for duty everyday and reports on time. Night escorting is carried out between 8.30pm and 6.30am in 24-hour ladies compartments on Western and Central Railway.

The constables report at Churchgate/CST station, where duty begins, around 8 pm and collect a rifle from the armoury after registering their name. There are random checks conducted on nodal stations to find out if 24-hour ladies compartments are being escorted or not. Locals do not operate between 2 to 4 am, when the escorting staff takes a break. It is their responsibility to keep the weapon safe at all times. At the end of the escorting duty, the constables have to return the rifle to the armoury. There’s an automatic check on their attendance when they sign the register twice__ while arriving for duty and while heading home.

Since September 2012, around 380 constables have been fined Rs 500 each for absenteeism from escort duty.