The Railway Protection Force (RPF) attempts to link personal identification cards such as Aadhaar cards, driver’s licenses, and other forms of identification with online ticketing platforms to combat illegal railway ticket sales in the Nation.
Director-General of the RPF Arun Kumar stated on June 25 that 14,257 touts had been arrested and Rs 28.34 crore worth of tickets were seized from them since 2018.
A tout is someone who buys tickets with the intention of reselling them for a profit.
In order to log into online ticketing platforms, customers will need to provide one of their identity cards, such as an Aadhaar card or passport, Kumar explained.
The Surveillance System Must Be Upgraded
RPF plans to release a smartphone app within the next few weeks that will provide consumers with the ability to file complaints about harassment, theft, and illegal stoppages, among other things.
Indian Railways has developed a comprehensive Rail Safety Mobile App that would allow passengers to report crimes occurring in trains.
Kumar added that RPF officers had been a part of the frontline workers in the fight against COVID-19. Just before the outbreak of the second wave of the COVID 19 in the Nation, around 90% of the officials were vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine.
In the second wave of COVID, 3,298 RPF officers were infected, 22 people died, and 150 are in the hospital. Only 0.045% of the jawans who received vaccinations fell ill.
Improvements To The Safety Of Women Passengers
RPF has also taken steps to increase the safety of female train passengers, according to Kumar.
In addition, he stated that the RPF had hired an additional 6,000 female constables, bringing its total to 9%.
He said that this had given impetus to the RPF’s Meri Saheli project. A woman constable stationed in the train, after identifying the women traveling alone from the reservation chart, contacts them at the seat and gives them her number, and assures them of security.