Baggage scanner, two metal detectors defunct at station

PUNE: The only baggage scanner at the main entrance of the busy Pune Junction station is defunct from October and the two doorframe metal detectors at the same spot have gone kaput, too.
Worse, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel on duty are unaware of when the doorframe metal detectors stopped functioning. A TOI visit to the station revealed these on Thursday, a day after the firing at platform number three of the station.

An RPF officer was busy over the phone in front of the baggage scanner, having a notice stating that the machine had a technical snag. After hanging up, he said, “According to our records, the machine went out of service on October 14. Whenever we come on duty, we have to write the comment on the logbook. It has developed a technical snag and I don’t know when it will be operational again.”

About the two doorframe metal detectors, he said, “They, too, have been non-functional for quite a while now. I exactly cannot tell you when they went out of service.”

D Vikas, the divisional security commissioner of the RPF of Pune division, said he would check the equipment immediately. “They will be made operational if they are not, without wasting any time,” he said.

On Wednesday, senior officers of the RPF had claimed that they were in the process of preparing a comprehensive plan for the safety of the Pune station. They had also stated that there was just one baggage scanner and two doorframe metal detectors at the station but did not mention that they were not functioning.

Harsha Shah, the president of the Railway Pravasi Group said, “We expected after the Wednesday’s firing that they (railway authorities) would immediately beef up the security, but nothing has happened. I, too, went to the station today (Thursday) and found that none of the machines were working. It is shocking. This shows that none of them are serious about the security.”