Railways gets women, children complaint booth

There is good news for women commuters on Mumbais local trains. In 10 days, the Government Railway Police (GRP) will complete installing special booths that will register complaints by women and children. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Mumbai Central railway stations already have an assigned corner. The GRP has, in the past, received many complaints from women and children, but none were being registered. Early this year, GRP officials and Ministry of Railways, Delhi, conducted meetings, but a circular for special corners was issued only last week. Inspector Rajendra Pal, GRP, who is in charge of the project, says, Cases of sexual harassment will be registered and monitored by the team. However, cases of theft will only be heard at the booths and not registered. We also spoke to children who loiter on the stations and their parents to find out whether they were being made to beg forcibly. We also came across kidnapping cases and are in the process of tracking the real parents of these children, adds Pal. The project will expand to 17 police stations, 130 railway stations and 356 railway platforms on the Central, Western and Harbour lines. Prabhat Kumar, commissioner of police, GRP, says, The staff that will be posted on this duty will be well trained. If required, they will counsel the female passengers or children as well. u00a0 Did you know? Of the 70 lakh passengers who commute on the Central and Western railways daily, 20 lakh are female commutersu00a0 On an average, eight to 10 complaints are registered every day This year, 26 rape cases under IPC Section 354 were registered