Mumbai: Western Railway's Railway Protection Force (RPF) has nabbed 460 accused involved in passenger theft cases between January and July 20 2023, the railway said in a statement on Thursday. The RPF's success has been attributed to the newly installed state-of-the-art CCTV cameras equipped with Facial Recognition System (FRS) as part of Operation Yatri Suraksha. All accused were handed over to the government railway police for further action.
The FRS technology, which contains details of known criminals along with their photos, played a pivotal role in capturing criminals involved in over 60% of the cases, most of which were reported on the bustling Mumbai suburban section of Western Railway.
Operation Yatri Suraksha
Operation Yatri Suraksha, spearheaded by the RPF, has been instrumental in securing the belongings of passengers. The initiative involved meticulous crime intelligence and the strategic deployment of 3897 CCTV cameras, including 488 cameras integrated with FRS.
Arrests made recently
Explaining the benefits of CCTV cameras, a senior officer of WR said, "On July 20, 2023, the Crime Prevention and Detection Squad (CPDS) of WR RPF successfully apprehended Karim Shakir Shah (42 yrs) after carefully reviewing CCTV footage at Andheri. Shah was identified as the culprit behind the theft of a mobile phone worth Rs 8,500. Further questioning revealed his involvement in three other similar cases."
"The same day, the CPDS team nabbed another offender, Sharufddin Shumshu Sayyed (25 yrs), at Andheri responsible for stealing a mobile phone valued at Rs 20,000. Sayyed admitted to committing five other crimes registered under IPC and NDPS Act," he added.
"On July 20, 2023, the CPDS team at Palghar Post caught Vijay Sukur Pawar (27 yrs) red-handed while attempting to pickpocket a passenger. Pawar had stolen items worth Rs. 13,300 and admitted involvement in another mobile theft valued at Rs. 16,000 (registered under IPC at GRP, Palghar)," further added officials.
Notably, on July 19, 2023, the CPDS team at Surat Post apprehended Zabir Satar Shaikh (20 yrs) while attempting to steal a mobile phone worth Rs 14,000. Shaikh has been handed over to GRP, Surat, for further legal action.
In another successful operation on the same day, RPF personnel at Surendranagar station of Rajkot Division detained Vishvanath Singh (23 yrs) after he confessed to stealing two mobile phones worth Rs. 32,500 and Rs. 4,000 in cash. Singh was subsequently handed over to GRP, Rajkot, for further legal proceedings.
FRS- A game changer, says WR official
A senior official of WR praised the dedication and efforts of the RPF in protecting passengers and combating crime. "The use of Facial Recognition System has proven to be a game-changer in the fight against passenger-related crimes," he said.
