Mumbai: Murder on train puts focus on CCTV cover for ladies coaches

MUMBAI: Investigations into the murder of a woman on an Express train have led to the discovery that the entrance to ladies coaches in rakes with 20 coaches or more cannot be properly viewed through cameras on platforms.

Dariya Chaudhary (40) had boarded the ladies coach of Bhuj-Dadar Superfast Express from Surat to travel to Mumbai last Friday when she was killed in what appears to be an attempted sexual assault and robbery bid. No arrests have been made.

“After the murder was reported, RPF officers at Surat scanned CCTV footage from the station and found grabs of Chaudhary and her husband walking on the platform with her luggage. They later found footage of Chaudhary’s husband leaving the station alone once her train departed. But there was no CCTV coverage of the coach she boarded,” said an official.

At most Western Railway stations, cameras have been installed so that entrances to far-flung coaches in rakes having 20 or more coaches cannot be properly viewed, which makes travellers there vulnerable. “Under Integrated Security System, 2,900 cameras will come up on 30 WR stations. Of these, 270 cameras will have facial recognition software. It will be a big boost for commuter security,” said a top official. But installation of the cameras will not happen soon. A WR spokesperson said ICF rakes are being replaced by LHB rakes, which will not have separate ladies coaches. The replacement will be in phases, he said.