The Government Railway Police, which patrols the Mumbai suburban line, is facing a huge shortage of wireless devices, sources in the Railways have revea-led.
Due to the shortage in wireless devices, most head constables and a sizeable number of officers, are forced to depend on cellphones to coordinate with each other, the source claimed. With fewer wireless devices, the GRP, which is already facing a manpower crunch, is finding it hard to patrol the railway stations, especially during emergency situations. Currently, the GRP is equipped with around 140 wireless devices, including stationary wireless devices, out of which the walkie-talkies have been distributed among senior police inspectors and another officer at all the police stations. Apart from them, head constables and constables posted at strategically important locations at railway stations, have also been given walkie-talkies. However, the existing number of wireless devices are insufficient for the staff.
“We have been asking for 300 more wireless devices since the last two years and additional batteries so that we could give it to each head constable or constable at every railway station. The additional devices will help us provide effective cover. However, the proposal is pending with the home department for the past two years,” said a highly-placed GRP source.
When contacted, a senior home department official said, “The file has not reached home minister R.R. Patil yet.”
In the past, GRP commissioner, Prabhat Kumar had openly said that due to the manpower crunch, they were unable to post a constable in each and every ladies compartment.
When contacted to speak on the issue, Mr Kumar refused to comment on the issue.