Pune railway division: 85 cases of chain pulling in trains registered in two months; 58 held

At least 85 cases of illegal alarm chain pulling by passengers have been registered from November 1 till December 22 and 58 persons have been arrested, according to the Railway Police Force (RPF) of the Pune railway division.

Officials say passengers unnecessarily pull the alarm chain during the morning and evening rush hours, because of which operations and punctuality of several trains is affected.

Arun Tripathi, RPF Pune division commissioner, said, “Daily six to eight cases related to alarm chain pulling have been registered at the Pune railway station and it was adversely impacting the train operations especially during the rush hours. So, we decided to start a drive against illegal alarm chain pulling and take action against culprits. After the drive was initiated, the cases have come down to two daily.”

“We have formed three teams which include one officer and three RPF policemen. The teams now keep a close watch on the operations of the trains and with help of CCTV catch the culprits. Most of the times they are the friends or relatives of the passengers who had come to drop off passengers who pull the chain, ” said Tripathi.

Once a person is caught in the act we arrest him, register a case and then produce him/her in the railway court, added Tripathi.

“It is not only risky for the person who pulls the chain as he tries to get down off of a moving train, but the railway also suffers losses, as the operations are affected, ” said Tripathi.

Daily more than 150 trains run from the Pune railway station and one lakh passengers use the services. There are six platforms at the Pune railway station and from 3 pm to 10 pm there are several long-distance trains which run from Pune railway station. 

Action intensifies

85 alarm chain pulling cases registered from November 1 to December 21, 2019

51 cases registered in November

34 cases registered in December

58 total number of persons arrested

35 persons arrested in November

23  persons arrested in December

Three teams deployed at Pune railway station to take action against culprits

Team includes one officer and three RPF policemen 

Fine

If a person is caught in alarm chain pulling case then he/she is booked under section 141 of the Railways Act, and a fine of up to Rs 1,000 or imprisonment up to a month can be imposed on him/her by the railway court.