Government Railway Police stations in Odisha lack infrastructure, facilities

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Even as crime on tracks and railway stations has elevated manifold through the years, the federal government railway police (GRP) stations within the State lack fundamental facilities to deal with the regulation and order.

While a traditional police station has a plinth space of 8,000 sqft in rural areas and 11,500 sqft in city areas, a GRPS has a plinth space of 800 sqft. The infrastructure of Odisha Police has improved phenomenally within the final twenty years, however the railway police stations, SRP workplace and different services have remained in the usual of the 70s.

The State has 15 GRPS and two superintendent places of work. Most of the police stations are dysfunctional as the essential requirement of a police station like workplace house, custody space (hazat, storage space, reception, house for set up of computer systems below CCTNS programme, barracks and relaxation rooms) should not out there.

Sources stated the police personnel deployed on the GRPS additionally should not present process regular coaching just like the common police within the absence of a Reserve Office. The workplace of SRP Cuttack is in a dilapidated situation and the workplace of SRP Rourkela is performing from employees quarters.

The GRP takes cognizance of all crimes which happen on the railway between the 2 distant indicators and in addition of crimes which happen within the working trains. Crimes occurring on the railway line past the 2 distant indicators is the accountability of the district police.

As per the prevailing association, the wage of GRP employees is shared by the Railways and the State authorities on a 50:50 ratio. But the infrastructure of the GRP positioned on railway land, is but to be fully supplied by the railways.

“Since the railway police stations are handling both crime and law and order in railway areas, they should have infrastructure on par with the regular police. Each GRPS should have a plinth area of 9,000 sqft and the offices of the SRP should be of the same design as that of district superintendent of police,” stated a senior police official. 

As the GRPS proceed to languish, Odisha Police has urged the Railway authorities to arrange a plan for upgrading the infrastructure of railway police to the extent of State police on the earliest. Addl DGP (Railways) Sudhanshu Sarangi stated the GM of East Coast Railway (ECoR) and DRMs have been advised to improve the infrastructure of GRPS in a phased method.  

“We have provided them with approved plans and designs of the police stations. The SRP office, police stations, reserve office, barracks and staff quarters of GRP should be upgraded to the level of the State police. The upgradation can be done in a period of three to five years,” he added.