RPF recovered stolen railway property worth Rs. 7.37 Crores with the arrest of 11268 offenders in 2022
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. 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 of RPF during 2022
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 6492 cases of theft of railway property in which recovery of stolen railway property worth Rs. 7.37 Crores was made with the arrest of 11268 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, 5179 touts were arrested and 4884 cases registered against them. This included 1021 authorized agents of IRCTC using illegal means in cornering reserved tickets. More than 140 illegal softwares were disrupted with arrest of their developers, super sellers, sellers & retailers using such illegal softwares.
Rescue of children under Operation Nanhe Faristey- 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. Ministry of Railways issued a revised Standard Operating Procedure for better care and protection of children in distress in contact with Railways in December 2021 which was operationalized in 2022. In accordance with the SOP, presently CHDs are operational at 143 railway stations. 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. ‘Nanhe Faristey’ has been launched 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, 17,756 such children were rescued by RPF personnel.
