KOCHI: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad divisions have begun raids to identify inebriated passengers in trains. In the wake of the Railway Board’s observation that there has been a rise in incidents involving misbehaviour by passengers, the Southern Railway launched the drive on Thursday.According to the findings, most of the complaints were from women who travel in trains during evening hours. RPF Divisional Security Commissioner K J Joy said: “At least 18 cases of misbehaviour registered in the past three months in our division were the result of drunken behaviour. According to the studies conducted in the divisions across the Southern Railway, the highest number of misbehaviour cases owing to intoxication was registered in Thiruvananthapuram. So, the drive against the drunken passengers will be strong there.”He added that raids would be strengthened after six in the evening. “In the past, we never filed cases unless complaints were registered. Now, we have been directed to slap a fine on anyone in an inebriated state,” another RPF official added.Meanwhile, steps have been taken to appoint special teams, comprising Railway Protection Force officials, to conduct checks in every railway station. “The existing RPF squads have also been asked to strengthen vigil against inebriated passengers found either on the railway premises or in trains. In areas where an RPF wing is not available, the Railway Police or the local police have the right to book the guilty passenger,” Joy added.As per the existing Indian Railways Act(Section 145), any railway personnel on board trains and platforms have the authority to remove a drunk passenger from train or the station premises and hand him over to a railway official who has the authority to book him under Section 145 of the Railways Act.“The Act gives the right to a TTE or even a guard to remove the passenger from the train and cancel his ticket. The RPF or the Railway Police will also be alerted. If the passenger is found guilty, there is a provision to book him under Section 145 of the Act. The drunk passenger may get a six-month imprisonment or receive a fine of Rs 500,” another RPF official said.
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