Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar is one of 9 stations in Odisha that have been identified by railway police as highly vulnerable to property related offences.
Besides Odisha capital, other railway stations, which have registered high number of property loot cases, are Berhampur, Khurda Road, Khallikote, Rourkela, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Titlagarh and Rayagada. The miscreants loot the luggage and other things from the passengers waiting in these stations, sources said.
The railway police has also identified 6 trains where the miscreants resort to loot and snatch the properties of the passengers. Those trains are Jagannath Express, Puri Howrah Express, Tapaswini Express, Durg-Puri Express, Dhanbad-Allepy Express and Rajarani Express.
The sources said besides ladies’ bags and other small items, mostly mobile phones are snatched from the passengers while those are put on for charging in stations and inside the trains.
As per the available data, property-related offences increased by nearly 20% under the jurisdiction of the GRP in Odisha in 2021 as against 2020. Total 599 property offences were reported in the GRP jurisdiction in 2020 against 714 in 2021. At least 264 cases related to property offences were registered in the first three months of 2022.
In order to bring the such crime under control, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Government Railway Police (GRP) have stepped up their vigilance. “The GRP and RPF personnel have been jointly working to prevent crimes in trains and at stations. They were asked to accord special attention to the Bhubaneswar railway station,” Times of India quoted Additional DGP (Railways) Sudhansu Saragi as saying.
Besides, the Railway authorities have been asked to upgrade the CCTV in trains and at stations as current CCTV camera coverage is not adequate, he added.
