The Railway Ministry has issued guidelines to prevent incidents against women that include keeping watch on suspects, a regular visit to vulnerable spots by duty officers and staff during their rounds on a short-term basis. The guidelines also include norms on how to use CCTV surveillance effectively to prevent harassment or crime against women calling for all capturing the face of all persons visiting railway stations, fixing CCTVs at vulnerable places among others, according to a statement issued on Saturday.
Also, the guidelines envisage a move to stop the beaming of porn sites using free internet provided by the Railways.
Of the 2.3 crore passengers travelling daily in trains, a fifth of passengers travelling through Indian Railways are women, shows pre-Covid-19 data, according to the statement.
Indian Railways’ guideline to Zonal Railways and production units to prevent incidents of crime against women in trains and in railway premises include longer-term steps like improvement of CCTV, light masts, which may take a reasonable time, should be chased with concerned authorities on a regular basis and till such time it is completed, focus should be kept on temporary minor works that can be effective in improving the situation, which may be worked out and got implemented with bare minimum expenditure or with available resources.
CCTV surveillance system should be used effectively. A time-to-time audit of the cameras installed and the area covered by them should be done. It should be ensured that all persons visiting the Railway platform or passenger area are caught on the cameras, stated the guidelines.
Vulnerable places identified for such crime should mandatorily be covered under the CCTV surveillance, added the release. The position of women’s coaches should be fixed at the platform and CCTV cameras to be especially installed on the platform at that point so as to provide adequate coverage of these coaches, it said adding that CCTV feed should be monitored by officers regularly.
Use of National Database on Sexual Offenders may be made for keeping surveillance of offenders residing in that area. Crime Intelligence Branch and Special Intelligence Branch should be utilized to ensure surveillance of the area identified to be vulnerable for rape and other heinous crime related to the human body (women) in addition to being done regularly by concerned RPF executive staff.
The guidelines also asked Railway to ensure (in coordination with the service providers) that porn sites are not accessible through the free internet service provided by Railways.
Details of helpline numbers that are printed on the reverse of train tickets, should be widely publicised. Also, people should be made aware of the pan India Emergency Response System and other important forum and calling facilities available for reporting offences and particularly offences against women in that area.