Railway Protection Force yet to get own bomb squad

NEW DELHI: For six years now, the Delhi unit of Railway Protection Force (RPF) has been waiting to get its own bomb disposal and detection squad. Tenders for equipment were passed in 2010 before the Commonwealth Games but only half the items were delivered till April 2012. RPF officials have written to the headquarters many times since then but no action has been taken.

"In 2010, a tender was passed and a private company was supposed to give RPF its first bomb disposal and detection kit so that it could form an independent squad. However, both the stations got only eight items from the kit, with 11 still missing," said a senior RPF official.

"Some of the items which have come are a bomb basket, bomb suit, gas cutter, telescope prodder, thermal cutter, drill machine and non-linear junction detector," the official said. However, the RPF men are not trained to handle them because of which the force is dependent on its dog squad and GRP.

"At any given time, two dogs are on duty at the New Delhi railway station while one at the Old Delhi one. We recruit constables and head constables who undergo training to become dog handlers. This is a wastage of resources. At major stations like New Delhi, we need at least six dogs so at least two are available in one shift, which extends up to eight hours. At present, the station has only two dogs and it takes them at least five hours to scan the entire station," he added.