Rockfort Express: திருச்சி அவனது கோட்டை, இரவில் சென்னை வரை வேட்டை, அவன் தான் மலைக்கோட்டை. - Vijay Baradwaj

One of the most sweeping pieces of security legislation concerning the railways, is in advanced stages of consultation among various ministries of the union government.If all goes according to plan, a Bill regarding the same will be tabled in the monsoon session of the Parliament which will be on till September 9, top railway ministry officials have told Mumbai Mirror.According to officials, the railway and union law and judiciary ministries are working on a Bill that will give sole policing powers on the railways to the Railway Protection Force (RPF).Currently, security on the railways is a dual-force system with crimes pertaining to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) being looked into by the railway police - which is an organ of the state government- while cases pertaining to the Indian Railways Act being investigated by the RPF.All cases related to railway property are under the jurisdiction of the RPF. Currently the all-India strength...
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of the RPF is around 70,000 while the railway police is close to 40,000.According to officials, an amendment is being made to the current RPF Act which will widen the scope of the term 'railway property', and make all passengers and their property come under the term 'railway property'. Currently, rail security is looked after by two forces
According to officials, what this means in simple terms is that theft of passenger property, chain-snatching, robbery, assault of passenger will be dealt with by the RPF.Currently these issues fall under the IPC and are dealt with by the railway police of the state through which the train may be passing at the time of the incident.
"The problem now is that if a crime takes place, say in Uttar Pradesh, and the passenger files a complaint in Maharashtra, time is wasted until the investigations are transferred from the Maharashtra police to the UP police. In case of the RPF since the railway divisions straddle state boundaries, this wouldn't pose a problem," said a Railway official.
The plan to give all policing powers to RPF has been a longstanding one but was speeded up by former railway minister Mamata Banerjee.
"The RPF is a paramilitary force which does not have the same expertise in investigation and detection of crimes as railway police. Converting RPF into a fulltime police force will be a gradual and long phase," said an official.