Camera assistance planned on Western Railway stations for women

MUMBAI: To improve security for women, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) is planning to create designated help posts directly in front of CCTV cameras on Western Railway stations. They believe that if women in distress approach these posts, they can be spotted immediately by personnel monitoring the footage and thus help can be provided quicker. For the first phase, 20 stations have been selected in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. At the posts, women in distress will be able to call on a special helpline number.

"We have noticed that women in distress often hesitate to approach chowkies. If they do not spot patrolling personnel, they often just leave without reporting the crime. As it's not possible to have personnel deputed at every corner, we decided to make use of the existing cameras mounted at stations," a senior RPF official said. Depending on the size of a station, five to eight help posts will be created.

At nodal stations, CCTV footage is monitored by RPF personnel while at smaller stations, the monitoring is done at the station master's office. "It becomes difficult for personnel to keep an eye on footage from all cameras at once. With the help posts coming in, they can prioritize and focus. If personnel notice a woman in distress at a help post, they will be required to inform the RPF chowky concerned on wireless. The woman may also dial a special helpline (mobile number), besides the chowky's landline numbers. If our staff fail to answer calls on the mobile number, they will face punishment," an official said.

The objective of the help posts is also to deter criminals. "Such elements will know that we are watching," said an official.