Minister of State for Railways  E. Ahamed said that necessary amendments in the Railway Property (unlawful possession) Act to further empower Railway Protection Force (RPF) officers to conduct enquiry on receipt of information and widen the ambit of its penal sections is under active consideration along with efforts to empower the RPF for dealing with passenger related offences. He stated this while addressing a gathering at the Railways Investiture Ceremony of RPF here today He said that to further strengthen Railway security, instructions have already been issued to concerned officials to initiate and speed up the recruitment process to fill up 5,134 posts for which the sanction has already been obtained along with existing vacancies at the earliest.

He said that protection of lady passengers is an important area and approval has been granted for raising 12 companies of “Mahila Vahini” comprising solely of women RPF personnel. Besides, Rs. 26.70 crore has been sanctioned for setting up a Commando Training Centre for RPF at Canning, Eastern Railway. In addition, three new Battalions of Railway Protection Special Force have been sanctioned which will be set up at Manwal, Northern Railway at an approximate cost of Rs. 23 crore, New Cooch Behar, North Frontier Railway at an approximate cost of Rs. 14.99 crore and a Mahila Batallion at Asansol, Eastern Railway, at an approximate cost of Rs. 14.72 crore.

He further said that augmenting the strength of RPF and the implementation of Integrated Security System at 202 vulnerable stations of Indian Railway shall go a long way in strengthening railway security and also instill a sense of security among the passengers. The Minister said that an All India Security Helpline has been sanctioned in the Railway Budget 2010-11, which on implementation, shall be accessed by passengers round the clock from anywhere in the country for security related assistance in Railway premises and during train journeys. Further, networking of security control rooms and important RPF posts has been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs. 4.41 crore for speedy collection and dissemination of crime related information and data.

Mr. Ahamed also presented 38 prestigious awards to the RPF recipients which include President’s Police Medal for gallantry; President’s Police Medal for distinguished service and Police Medal for meritorious service for the year 2009-10. In addition, the Minister also declared a reward of Rs. 15 lakh out of which Rs. 3 lakh to the RPF Welfare Fund for the Parade Contingent, Rs. 3 lakh to the 6th Battalion RPSF who hosted this event, Rs. 2 lakh to the personnel who did the administrative arrangements, Rs. 1 lakh for the RPF Band and Rs. 3 lakh each for the RPF Officer’s Mess and the RPF NGO’s Mess at Delhi.