Andhra Pradesh second highest in railway offences

Visakhapatnam: As many as 69,310 cases were registered by the RPF in the state, the second highest nationwide. AP stood sixth highest in number of offences.The National Crime Records Bureau has released a report on crime in railways with the cases registered by the GRP and the RPF separately. The state has railway stations under East Coast and South Central zones. 

RPF registers cases under the Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act and the Indian Railway Act. Offences include trespass, pulling chain, travelling on rooftop and footboard, ticket fraud, touting, illegal vending, smoking, cornering seats, unlawfully bringing dangerous and offensive goods on to railway premises.

As law and order comes under the state’s purview, GRP handles cases such as theft, robbery, criminal trespass, dacoity, etc. under the IPC. The number of RPF cases in the state has gone up from 51,076 in 2015 to 69,689 in 2016. The GRP had registered 1,817 cases including 1,625 thefts.

RPF’s senior divisional security commissioner Ibrahim Sherif told this newspaper, “The NCRB is coming up with RPF cases separately. We do not see the offences in terms of states as the railway zones are spread across states. The number of cases registered has increased and so the prosecution rate.” In Waltair division, Mr Sherif said 12,000-13,000 cases are registered under the Indian Railway Act and 100-120 cases under the Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act every year.