National

"It's Like A Game Of Dice"

After the train robberies in Bihar caused a furore in Parliament, the top brass of the state railway police was shunted out. R.R. Prasad

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"It's Like A Game Of Dice"
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How do you explain the recent spurt of dacoities?

Train robberies are nothing new in Bihar. But what has caused alarm is that the recent robberies have taken place in Express and Mail trains and it involved groups which were not considered vulnerable. Army jawans and passengers in AC compartments have been robbed, foreigners have been looted. And all this happened in quick succession. The dacoities have been taking place because over the years the number of trains and passengers have increased and we do not have adequate men to handle the increased pressure. I would say we are grossly under-staffed.

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Can you elaborate?

In an ideal situation when trains are running on time, all we can provide are four constables and a havildar per train. But with trains running late, day trains ply at night and we have too much on our hands and too little manpower. Then, it's like playing a game of dice. We choose a few trains which we feel we should escort. But there is no guarantee that robberies will not take place on unescorted trains. And even if we provide an escort, four constables can hardly police 22 bogies. They are helpless. I have had sleepless nights in the past few days. No one knew when the dacoits would strike. Unless the police force is beefed up, it can do little to stop dacoities.

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Has the growth in passenger traffic added to the pressure?

Since local trains are few and far between, the villagers board long-distance trains and travel ticketless. Policing the railways is difficult. Our jurisdiction is literally between the tracks. Once the dacoit escapes, we need help from the district police to nab them. But they have not always been cooperative.

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