MUMBAI, DEC 13: In a bid to promote public participation in action against crime on railways, the Government Railway Police (GRP) have started issuing identity cards for volunteers who will help in identifying and arresting miscreants on trains.During a function on Saturday, the Special Inspector General of GRP S S Suradkar distributed 35 such cards to a social outfit called Akhil Bhartiya Agnishikha Manch. The volunteers are allowed to use these cards to accost troublemakers and in cases of emergency, stop the train and call for police personnel to arrest such people.
Distributing the cards, Suradkar called for an increased police-public interaction to prevent a repeat of incidents like mugging of college student Jaybala. These volunteers will intervene when an unauthorised person enters the women's compartment. These volunteers, mostly women, can also catch the miscreants or avail the services of the railway police to arrest those persons, whom they identify as having indulged in an improper act.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.