In the light of the Samjhauta blasts, the security of another high-risk cross-border train, the Thar Express, is in question. And authorities concerned with the setting up of security measures for the train are passing the buck.

Before the starting of the Thar Express last February, Railway and police authorities had underlined the need for high-scale security and submitted a draft proposal that included dog squads, X-ray machines, CCTVs and extra armed forces personnel. A proposal that looked good on paper but forgotten, soon after.

State Principal Secretary (Home) V S Singh accepted the fact that there had been a proposal, but refused to divulge any details about the contents. “The security on Thar Express and the stations it passes through is now being looked after by the Centre, so how does it matter? This is a matter of internal security and cannot be discussed,” Singh said.

However, sources within the Railway and the police department confirmed that the need for a proper and upgraded security system was an issue taken up with the state government on several occasions. “First the state government failed to respond at the appropriate time. Later, the file was sent to the Central government and a response is still awaited. Whatever the status of the proposal might be, the fact remains that security is quite vulnerable,” a senior official of the North Western Government Railway Police said. However, the fact remains that even the Railways have failed to take appropriate measures and the police decided to go ahead with the service with ‘a bare-minimum security essentials’ at the stations.

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