As many as 74 males arrested for travelling in women coaches

Kolkata: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) arrested 74 male passengers found travelling in coaches reserved for women passengers in two days, under a special drive executed to ensure safety and security of women passengers as well as enforcement of the appropriate use of reserved coaches for them.

The special drive was conducted under “Operation Mahila Suraksha.” On May 30, RPF officials from Howrah, Sealdah, Asansol and Malda divisions conducted routine checking which resulted in the arrest and prosecution of 55 male passengers found travelling in coaches reserved for women passengers. In a similar exercise in these divisions on June 2, they arrested and prosecuted 19 male passengers found travelling in coaches reserved for women. The apprehended people were prosecuted under the provisions of the Railway Act. Chief Public Relations Officer Kaushik Mitra said that the “Operation Mahila Suraksha” highlights Railway’s commitment towards strict enforcement of railway regulations and protection of passengers’ rights.

Apart from this, ER’s Sealdah Division has been taking measures to curb ticketless travelling by conducting special ambush checks. On June 3, in a similar measure at Sonarpur Station, a total of 206 ticketless passengers were caught and 42 cases were registered on unbooked luggage. This resulted in realisation of Rs 62,000 as Railway revenue.

As many as 160 passengers were counselled by the Vigilance department of Eastern Railway on purchasing tickets from UTS counters and through the UTS-On-Mobile App. According to Railway officials, most of the ticketless passengers boarded the train from Diamond Harbour, Canning, Hotor, Ghutiarisharif and Sangrampur stations of Sealdah South section.