In view of the Gram Panchayat elections that are being held in the state of Maharashtra, the Police have reportedly deployed 350 railway personnel for security at suburban stations in Sangli, Satara and other places.
At present, the Railway Police has limited manpower in order to ensure the safety of the passengers as there are no house guards to help them due to which the passengers have to be protected with the available manpower. Moreover, the Railway Police is tasked with curbing and investigating crimes within the railway boundaries.
In addition, they are responsible for the safety of female passengers. At present, the number of sanctioned posts in the Railway Police is 3,780, however, 3,172 police are working. Therefore, there is a need for an extra 608 personnel. As a result of insufficient manpower, the work stress on the employees has reportedly witnessed an increase. Before the lockdown, the home guard was on the side of the railway police, however, that too was removed.
According to sources, the Railway Police has demanded at least 600 home guards from the Home Guard department. However, no decision has been taken as of now. In view of this situation, it has been decided to send only the Railway Police deployed on the Mumbai Suburban Railway for the Gram Panchayat elections in the state whereas 350 policemen were dispatched to other places on Tuesday, January 12.
At present, local services are not open to all, yet more than 16 lakh passengers are travelling on the Western and Central Railway suburban trains amidst the pandemic.
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