47 per cent rise in train theft cases in 2014-16: Govt

The number of thefts on trains went up by 47 per cent from 2014 to 2016, the Lok Sabha was told today.

A total of 17,925 cases of travellers' belongings being stolen were registered in 2016. In 2015, the number of such cases was 16,180 while in 2014, the number stood at 12,161, the Minister of State for the Railways, Rajen Gohain, said in a written reply to a question in Parliament.

The number of thefts had increased by more than 10 per cent from 2015 to 2016.

"Except a marginal increase in the cases of theft of passengers' belongings, incidents of robbery, dacoity and drugging decreased in the year 2016 as compared to the year 2015," the minister said.
 

The number of cases of robbery in trains in 2016 was 531 as compared to 805 in 2015. Dacoity cases went down to 40 in 2016 from 57 the year before and the number of passengers who were drugged from 346 in 2015 to 262 in 2016.

"As per the present scheme of things, policing on railways is a state subject. Therefore, prevention of crime, registration of cases, their investigation and maintenance of law and order in railway premises as well as on running trains are the statutory responsibility of the state governments, which they discharge through the government railway police, district police," Gohain said.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) supplements the efforts of the Government Railway Police (GRP) in providing better protection and security of passengers and passenger areas, he said.

The minister also listed security measures taken by the Railways for passenger safety.

He said around 2,500 trains on an average were escorted by the RPF daily in addition to 2,200 trains escorted by the GRP of the different states every day.

"Surveillance is kept through CCTV cameras, provided at about 344 stations over the Indian Railways, to ensure safety and security of passengers. Security helpline 182 is made operational over the Indian Railways for security related assistance to passengers," Gohain said.