8 minor girls, 7 boys rescued from Dimapur Railway Station this year

DIMAPUR— A total of 15 minors including seven boys and eight girls were rescued by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) from Dimapur Railway Station this year between January and June, an RPF official said.

The minors, who were rescued under Operation AAHT (Action Against Human Trafficking), were later handed over to Childline Dimapur, informed Assistant Security Commissioner, RPF, Somnath Chakraborty on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference, Chakraborty said the RPF is committed to providing 100% security to the passengers and that it has launched several operations including Operation Amanat (retrieval of left behind luggage of passengers and its return), Operation Nanhe Faiste, Mission Jeevan Raksha, Mission Mahila Suraksha Saheli, Operation Narcos (recovery of NDPS), and Operation AAHT to achieve its goal.

He said the RPF’s main functions are to protect railway property, detect railway property offenders, and provide security to railway passengers and railway goods.

The RPF personnel posted in Dimapur cover both Assam and Nagaland –Diphu in Assam and Dimapur up to Sarupathar, Chakraborty said.

The RPF officer also informed that its personnel are looking after two main railway stations in Nagaland – Shokhuvi and Dimapur. The ongoing railway project from Dhansari to Sechu (Zubza) will come under them after completion, he added.

Any railway passenger can call ‘139’ to register a complaint, and the RPF personnel will take up grievances, he said, adding that female RPF personnel are also on duty in the stations to ensure safety of female passengers.

Special drive against offenders

Chakraborty stated that during May-June, a special drive (fortress checking) was conducted against ticketless passengers, offenders of littering and smoking at Dimapur railway station.

During the special drive, 132 cases of littering were reported and an amount of INR 27,250 was collected from the offenders as fine

Meanwhile, 68 persons were caught smoking, from which an amount of INR 13,600 was collected as fine, he added.

Crime-related data during 2023

From January- June 21, a total of 150 cases under Railway Act 1989 were registered at RPF post in Dimapur and 149 offenders apprehended, prosecuted and fined, he informed.

Among the offenders, 61 were held for unauthorised alarm chain pulling and 23 for unauthorised hawking or vending.

Two persons were also apprehended for unauthorised procuring and supplying of railway tickets. In another case, two persons were arrested in connection with theft of railway materials.

RPF also detected six cases of contraband (ganja) worth INR 7,70,300, one case of illegal transportation of foreign cigarette worth INR 80,000; bothe cases were handed over to the department concerned. Four cases of illegal transportation of suspected brown sugar worth INR 56,40,000 were also detected.

The official further informed that continuous awareness campaign are being organised against unauthorised alarm chain pulling (ACP) and unauthorised railway crossing.