Bhubaneswar (Kalinga Voice) : Lives of 62 people saved by Railway Protection Force(RPF) personnel as part of mission “Jeevan Raksha” and 1156 children including 787 Boys and 369 Girls, were rescued in February, 2022. in the same month, Lady RPF personnel provide assistance to 9 pregnant women passengers under “Operation Matrishakti”. RPF retrieves 1746 passengers belongings valued to the tune of more than Rs 2.93 Crores under “Operation Amanat” in February 2022too and Narcotic products valued Rs. 2.28 Crores recovered by RPF in February, says a release from East Coast railway stating the Performance of Railway Protection Force (RPF) in February 2022
The dedication of the Railway Protection Force in the service of the nation and its Citizens can be summarised in three words: Suraksha, Satarkata, Sewa. Railway Protection Force (RPF) is entrusted with the responsibility of security of railway property, passenger area, passengers and matters connected therewith. They also provide help to passengers in need and rescue women and children in need of care and protection.
Saving endangered human lives may not be our mandated duty, but it is a duty ordained by the divine on every citizen. Being “citizens in uniform” our personnel go beyond the call of duty risking their own lives to save other lives. There are incidents wherein passengers trying to board/de-board a moving train slip and fall with the risk of coming under the wheels of train. Under mission “Jeevan Raksha” RPF personnel, risking their own lives, saved 62 (35 Male + 27 Female) during the month February 2022 and 114 lives during 2022.
Children in distress coming in contact with railways are vulnerable to be exploited or trafficked. Transportation of victim child precedes the stage of exploitation. Once the child is exploited, no measure of rehabilitation, however effective, can obliterate the scars on his/her psyche caused by exploitation. RPF is positioned strategically to secure the child before he/she falls into the hands of exploiters. To leverage the strategic positioning of RPF for child protection and rescue, we have launched “Operation Nanhe Fariste”. RPF undertakes the noble cause of identifying and rescuing children in need of care and protection who are lost/separated from their family due to various reasons. During the month of February 2022, 1156 children (787 Boys + 369 Girls) in need of care & protection who came in contact with Indian Railways were rescued the follow up action in coordination with the NGOs. We have rescued 1488 boys and 713 girls (Total 2201 minors) were rescued by RPF in 2022.
RPF personnel especially ladies RPF personnel, who currently form about 9% of total strength, go out of the way to help pregnant women, who go into labour during their train journeys, in childbirth under “Operation Matrishakti”. During the month of Feb-2022, lady RPF personnel provided assistance to 09 such women passengers and were instrumental in bringing their children to this beautiful world. We have provided help in 16 such cases in 2022.
Many passengers forget to take all their belongings in the rush to catch train or leave the station. RPF personnel help in securing such belongings and restore them to the rightful owners under “Operation Amanat”. RPF retrieved 1746 passengers belongings valued to the tune of more than Rs 2.93 Crores under this operation during the month February 2022. In 2022, we have secured and returned left behind luggage to the tune of Rs 5.74 Crores to their rightful owners.
Peddling in Narcotics is a grave crime against the nation. We have taken a solemn pledge to do everything not to let Indian Railways become a conduit for narcotic smuggling. In order to focused attention to drive against smuggling of narcotics through rail, RPF has launched “Operation NARCOS”. Under this operation, RPF has recovered Narcotic products valued Rs. 2.28 Crores with the arrest of 67 Persons during the month of February 2022. The figure of seizure has crossed Rs 3.82 Crores with arrest of 248 persons in the year 2022.
RPF personnel acknowledge that deployment in mass contact areas makes it Mandatory for them to have requisite soft skills and have a service orientation. On the basis of feedback from passengers, we are continually fine tuning and upgrading our skill sets and performance to help nation and its citizens better.
