In a significant achievement, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Eastern Railway yesterday rescued 25 children on a single day from various stations of the zonal railway.
The RPF of Eastern Railway conducted an intensive drive to protect vulnerable children under ‘Operation Nanhe Farishtey’ yesterday. The rehabilitation took place when the RPF officials of Howrah, Sealdah, and Asansol divisions rescued 25 minor boys and girls from Howrah, Lalgola, and Jasidih railway stations. As learnt from sources in the ER, among the rescued, two minors had fled from their homes due to family discord, while one boy was found begging in train. In yet another rescue drive, twenty-two minors were found travelling in train number 12376 Jasidih-Tambaram Express intending to work in different companies and establishments at Chennai.
The rescued children were rescued and handed over to the concerned child help line authorities for counselling and further rehabilitation.
In yet another drive to curb touting activities and ensure fair ticket availability to bona fide passengers, the RPF arrested 150 persons between 1 April and 31 October, under ‘Operation Uplabdh.’
During the surveillance and enforcement efforts being carried out across all divisions of Eastern Railway, the highest number of cases registered and persons arrested were from Sealdah Division. As learnt from the zonal railway office, between 1 April and 31 October, 80 cases were registered and 81 persons were arrested in the Sealdah Division under ‘Operation Uplabdh.’ After Sealdah, Howrah division has a good number of cases. During the six months period, 37 cases were registered while 48 were arrested by the RPF for touting activities, under the Howrah division. Next was the Asansol Division with 13 cases registered and 15 persons arrested.
In the Malda division, 7 cases were registered and 6 persons were arrested for carrying out illegal e-ticketing.
According to the ER office, the RPF teams are using cyber monitoring tools, digital analytics, and field intelligence to detect touting networks involved in illegal e-ticketing and misuse of railway facilities. Special focus is being given to preventive checks at reservation counters, common service centres, and online platforms.