Government Railway Police Personnel Targeting The Passengers For Money

Government Railway Police Personnel Targeting The Passengers For Money

Pune: Rail passengers, mostly labourers, travelling from Pune to cities in the north like Gorakhpur, Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur, are being targeted by errant personnel of the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Pune Junction. 

The passengers alleged that the GRP personnel come in a group of 4 to 5 and threaten that they will not be allowed to board the train and a case will be lodged unless they pay up.

A passenger, Suresh Kumar said, “On Monday at 4 pm passengers were ready to board the Pune-Jammu Tavi Jhelum Express which departs at 5.20 pm. A group of GRP started searching their luggage. They took them to the foot overbridge at Railway Mail Service (RMS) on platform number one. They started arguing and forced them to pay whatever they have,” he said.

Kumar said he was travelling with six friends by Jhelum Express. He alleged the personnel took Rs 20,000 from them and after half an hour at 4.30 pm they released them to stand in the queue for the general compartment of the train. 

Another passenger, Jay Thakur, travelling alone by Pune-Danapur Superfast Express on Tuesday said, “On Tuesday at 4.50 pm I took a general ticket and was going towards Railway Protection Force (RPF) token system at platform number one. One personnel came to me and showing his ID card, said he was from the police and has to check my bag. When he opened my bag, he said some items are not allowed. I was forced to pay Rs 5,000 to him and they allowed me to stand at the front of the queue.” The train departs at 8.55 pm every day. 

Railway activists claim the police personnel and RPF men are fleecing the passengers. Travellers, especially the uneducated and the poor, are being robbed by the people supposed to look after their safety, they alleged.

Harsha Shah of Railway Pravasi Group said, “This is an old trick GRP personnel have been using for years. They have been extorting money from passengers even though metal utensils are not banned. On one hand, they extort money, and on the other, they risk safety by allowing them to carry inflammable material.”

On Wednesday, a passenger carrying two sacks alleged he was stopped by a GRP constable. “When I refused to stop, he slapped me and took my Aadhar card. After a few minutes he returned it but how can he slap me? I am a poor man working in Pune as a building labourer,” said Ratnesh Sharma, travelling by Pune-Darbhanga Gyan Ganga Express.

Some passengers alleged that RPF men ask them to pay Rs 500 to be allowed to stand at the front of the queue for token. “They took many of us near RPF office at platform number one. They start negotiations with passengers and the amount starts at Rs 100 and goes to 500. If we pay Rs 200, they make us stand second in the queue,” said Sudhir Das, a labourer travelling with Pune-Danapur Superfast Express.

A railway insider, who did not wish to be named, said this was illegal. “No passenger can be fined before boarding a train. Special squads patrol trains and if they find people travelling without a ticket, they penalise them and ask them to deboard the reserved compartment. Because of this illegal practice, those who book tickets two months in advance suffer. Those who pay extra get duped as there is no space for them to sit,” he added.

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