CISF may have stopped 180 Delhi Metro suicides

NEW DELHI: CISF seized huge quantities of gold, ammunition and drugs, both prescription and narcotic, being smuggled on Delhi Metro and through the airport in the past one year. However, their most vital contribution may lie in preventing a significant number of Metro suicides.

CISF personnel identified 180 people "in a disturbed state of mind" hovering around tracks and railings of tall stations, through video and personal surveillance, and counselled them against taking the extreme step.

Senior officials of the force said they adopted an active role in identifying loitering people who looked distressed, many of whom may have been potential victims of their depression, following reports of several suicides. According to statistics, 45 people attempted to end their lives at the Metro station. Eleven succeeded.



On the sidelines of the paramilitary force's annual press conference in the capital on Monday, CISF director general Arvind Ranjan said that, with help of CCTV cameras, CISF was able to detect unusual behaviour in people.

"We detected 180 people in a disturbed state of mind. We saw them wandering on platforms of the Metro, skipping trains. We sent our personnel to them. They were brought to the station control room and their families were contacted," Ranjan said. The DG said many of these people would not reveal the intent behind their strange behaviour.

CISF also caught over 500 people walking on Metro tracks. "Ninety percent of them were spotted by CCTV cameras. Others were seen by our personnel," said Ranjan. Each such person was fined Rs 250. Operations were also carried out to prevent men from boarding women's only coaches and to nab pickpockets, sources said.