S Henlly Phom
DIMAPUR, JUNE 20
The long stretch of the railway platform as usual is crowded with people, porters, stalls and police personnel patrolling the stretch. The scene is not a pleasant one with loud noise making it almost impossible to distinguish passengers from trespassers. Add to this the railway announcement and you get a cacophony.
The station has turned into a veritable haven for criminals to carry out illegal activities. Crime is taking place under the nose of two police forces namely the Government Railway Police Station (GRPS) and Railway Protection Force (RPF).
But the openness of the station which provides criminals easy access to the area also needs to be considered as a factor contributing to the crime taking place. GRPS Officer In-charge (OC) Salie Nagi, talking to Eastern Mirror, said the station is wide open in all four corners and has become like a street for public inviting trespassers and rise in crime.
Of late, crimes reported at the station include incidents of ‘thieves’ snatching and grabbing cell phones or luggage from passengers. Offenders admit that the easy access to the station also allows them to sleep overnight pretending to be travelers and commit their offences.
A wing of the RPF is also authorized with dealing with offences related to theft, misuse of chain and unlawful possession of railway property, unauthorized vending and trespassing.
OC, RPF, Rokonicha told Eastern Mirror that the Centre declared Dimapur station as one of the model stations but the people and leaders are not interested. Because of this, he lamented, the station which should have been ‘A’ class station is lagging behind all modern amenities. He said the boundary walls of the station need to be properly constructed and a better security system needs to be in place at the station.
Closed circuit TV cameras have been proving to be helpful in solving crimes. He hoped that the Integrated Security System (ISS) in Dimapur Railway station will further secure the station.
In fact, the installation of some technology has led to an increasing detection of crime. In the last five months, nine cases of contraband drugs seizure of 263 kgs amounting Rs 13,15,000 have taken place.
However, the railway protection forces are still concerned with the increasing incidents of unsuspecting passengers being drugged and robbed of their belongings.
Rokonicha cautioned passengers to be wary of strangers offering any eatables on their journey and avoid the situation.
As the only rail head in the State which also serves the state of Manipur, the Dimapur Railway Station is clearly in need of urgent development with modern amenities. This will not only make the job of police personnel easier but will also create a safer environment for commuters.
