Safer railway stations: Over 20 top cops across India to meet in Delhi

New Delhi: Last Friday, the country witnessed over 60 casualties in a train accident in Amritsar, Punjab, which raised concerns over the safety precautions in and around railway stations.

Now, over 20 senior police officers involved in maintaining security in Railway jurisdiction from different states and union territories, including Delhi, will attend a meeting at the Delhi Police headquarters, where details will be shared about criminals as well as measures to curb fatal train accidents.

Police sources said that the city police has made a ten point agenda, which includes women's safety, list of criminal gangs active in all states and proper coordination among the states. They added that a discussion on how to curb accidents and casualties caused by people coming in front of trains.

"There are some areas where proper fencing is not done and they have movement of people, which is vulnerable. There are chances that the solution of particular problems can be sent to the Railways for further action," said sources.

At the meeting, cops will also discuss the issue of broken walls within the railway jurisdiction, through which people enter railway stations and measures to ensure that they get repaired.

"The bushes near the railway tracks sometimes are used as hiding points by criminals. We will make sure that the area near tracks should be clean," said a source. Police claimed that in five railway stations in Delhi, they have found people entering the premises through tracks and going unnoticed. Police have also enhanced patrolling in these areas.

Meanwhile, the data on accidental deaths within Railway police jurisdiction – accessed by Millennium Post – stated that in 2016, 816 men and 82 women lost their lives in rail accidents. Last year, the numbers were 790 persons (695 men and 95 women.

This year, till August 7, as many as 492 casualties – 457 men and 35 women – were reported.