The Railway Protection Force (RPF) was constituted under the RPF Act, 1957 by Government of India under the Ministry of Railways, for better protection and security of Railway property, to remove any obstruction in the movement of railway property and to do any other act conducive for better protection and security of railway property. RPF is empowered to deal with cases of crime against railway property under the provisions of Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1966. [RP (UP)Act]. RPF has also been entrusted with the responsibility of security of railway passenger area and railway passengers since 2004. The Force carries on an unrelenting fight against criminals in protecting railway passengers, passenger area and railway property, facilitate passenger travel and security, remains vigilant to prevent trafficking of women and children and take appropriate action to rehabilitate destitute children found in Railway areas. The force has the distinction of the central force with largest share of women (9%) in its ranks.

Achievements by RPF during 2023 –

Operation “Rail Suraksha” – Under this operation, as per the mandate to safeguard railway property, RPF took legal action against crime involving railway property. During the year RPF registered 6312 cases of theft of railway property in which recovery of stolen railway property worth Rs. 12.48 crore was made with the arrest of 12099 offenders.

Action against touts under Operation “Upalabdh”:-Procurement of railway tickets for reserved accommodation has been a very tough task for the common man as the tickets were being cornered in bulk by the touts. Use of illegal software for cornering confirmed railway reservations online had adversely affected the availability of confirmed tickets to the common man. RPF has been undertaking intensive and continuous action against persons involved in touting (unauthorized carrying on of business of procuring & supply of railway tickets). Under this operation, 5544 touts were arrested and –5207 cases registered against them. This included more than 990 authorized agents of IRCTC using illegal means in cornering reserved tickets.

Rescue of children under Operation NanheFaristey:-RPF undertakes the noble cause of identifying and rescuing children in need of care & protection who are lost/separated from their family due to various reasons. RPF has played an important role in reuniting the children lost/separated due to several reasons from their family and rescued Children in need of care & protection who came in contact with Indian Railways. In this regard, an intensive drive viz. ‘NanheFaristey’ is being run on Indian Railways to rescue children in need of care and protection found in trains/railway station and this is showing remarkable results. During the year 11794 such children were rescued by RPF personnel.

Action against Human Trafficking under Operation AAHT –RPF, being the sentinels of the national carrier with a pan India reach, has its task cut out in nation’s fight against Human Trafficking. The force has launched an operation against Human Trafficking called “Operation AAHT”. In order to have an effective mechanism to avert the attempts of the Human traffickers, as per standard operating procedure issued in 2022, Anti Human Trafficking Units of RPF were made operational at the post level (Thana level) at more than 740 locations over the Indian Railways. During the year 1048 persons were rescued from the clutches of traffickers with arrest of 257 traffickers. RPF has signed an MoU with Association of Voluntary Action (a foundation of Nobel Laureate Sri Kailash Satyarthi) also known as BachpanBachaoAndolan on 06.05.2022 for association in capacity building of RPF & Railway men raid, rescue and sharing of information on Human Trafficking.

Mission “JeevanRaksha”: – There are incidents wherein passengers in hurry try to board/de-board a moving train, slip and fall with the risk of coming under the wheels of train. There are other instances where people under distress try to commit suicide by deliberately coming in front of a running train. Under this operation RPF personnel risking their own lives tries to rescue the lives of others. During the year, 3719  precious life were saved by RPF personnel.

Operation “NARCOS” :-Narcotics not only destroys the health of the youth, but they also damage the economy and wellbeing of the nation. RPF has been empowered to conduct search, seizure, and arrest under NDPS Act in 2019. In order to give focused attention to the drive against smuggling of Narcotics through rail, RPF has launched operation and succeeded in recovery of NDPS valued about Rs. 40.32 Crore