02-20-2007, 01:20 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Kin allowed to meet passengers in coaches after security drill </b>
Pioneer.com
Deepak Kumar Jha | New Delhi
It may be an irony that Delhi Police had specific information about the terrorists who were nabbed after a brief encounter at Connaught Place early this month, but did not have an iota of information about the bombs that were probably planted at Puraani Dilli Junction. Nonetheless, the large-heartedness of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and other security officials at the station can be perceived by the way they allow the relatives and friends of passengers to greet each other inside the coaches after the frisking and security check.
<b>Platform no 18, from where the Delhi-Attari 4001up departs on Sundays and Wednesdays at 10.50 pm can be accessed by several points including a huge hole on the boundary wall opposite the Novelty Cinema. This hole, which is big enough to pass on two persons simultaneously, also leads to station yard where several long distance trains, including the Attari Express, are lined up for maintenance</b>.
<b>"During my several visits to the station to see off my relatives I found that the authorities were kind enough. Even after the security drill we were allowed to meet our kin inside the coaches minutes before the train is about to leave. At times they even accept bribe to pass on heavy luggage on our request that Sirji isme kuch nahi hai rehne do nahi to phir se luggage bandhna padega,"</b> said Mohammed Aslam from Firzobad who had come to the Delhi station to inquire about his relatives. Abdul Majid was travelling with four family members who belonged to Hyderabad in Pakistan. Aslam came to know that his relatives were safe and were on board the train to Attari and onward to Lahore.
Besides, 16 coaches of the Delhi-Attari 4001up are escorted by only six RPF personnel comprising one Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), two head constables and three constables. "It is really difficult to manage each and every coach as the eight general compartments of the train do not have vestibules and they are not inter-connected.<b> Further it does not have any stoppage till Ambala which even is a technical one which makes impossible for the personnel to move on to different coaches constantly.</b> However, we follow the traditional way of frisking," said a senior RPF official requesting not to quote him.
Virtually admitting a security lapse, even Railway Minister Lalu Yadav on Monday said there was no equipment for checking what was there inside the luggage. "Though there are metal detectors, we don't have the equipment to check what is inside the luggage. We can't deny that (security lapse)," he said replying to reporters when asked if there was any security lapse. The Minister also said the State Governments of Punjab and Haryana had a major role in ensuring the security of the train and the RPF did not have many powers. <b>Later in the evening, Yadav also said that the Delhi-Attari train will now depart from Safdarjung Station after the logistics approval are completed.</b>
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Pioneer.com
Deepak Kumar Jha | New Delhi
It may be an irony that Delhi Police had specific information about the terrorists who were nabbed after a brief encounter at Connaught Place early this month, but did not have an iota of information about the bombs that were probably planted at Puraani Dilli Junction. Nonetheless, the large-heartedness of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and other security officials at the station can be perceived by the way they allow the relatives and friends of passengers to greet each other inside the coaches after the frisking and security check.
<b>Platform no 18, from where the Delhi-Attari 4001up departs on Sundays and Wednesdays at 10.50 pm can be accessed by several points including a huge hole on the boundary wall opposite the Novelty Cinema. This hole, which is big enough to pass on two persons simultaneously, also leads to station yard where several long distance trains, including the Attari Express, are lined up for maintenance</b>.
<b>"During my several visits to the station to see off my relatives I found that the authorities were kind enough. Even after the security drill we were allowed to meet our kin inside the coaches minutes before the train is about to leave. At times they even accept bribe to pass on heavy luggage on our request that Sirji isme kuch nahi hai rehne do nahi to phir se luggage bandhna padega,"</b> said Mohammed Aslam from Firzobad who had come to the Delhi station to inquire about his relatives. Abdul Majid was travelling with four family members who belonged to Hyderabad in Pakistan. Aslam came to know that his relatives were safe and were on board the train to Attari and onward to Lahore.
Besides, 16 coaches of the Delhi-Attari 4001up are escorted by only six RPF personnel comprising one Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), two head constables and three constables. "It is really difficult to manage each and every coach as the eight general compartments of the train do not have vestibules and they are not inter-connected.<b> Further it does not have any stoppage till Ambala which even is a technical one which makes impossible for the personnel to move on to different coaches constantly.</b> However, we follow the traditional way of frisking," said a senior RPF official requesting not to quote him.
Virtually admitting a security lapse, even Railway Minister Lalu Yadav on Monday said there was no equipment for checking what was there inside the luggage. "Though there are metal detectors, we don't have the equipment to check what is inside the luggage. We can't deny that (security lapse)," he said replying to reporters when asked if there was any security lapse. The Minister also said the State Governments of Punjab and Haryana had a major role in ensuring the security of the train and the RPF did not have many powers. <b>Later in the evening, Yadav also said that the Delhi-Attari train will now depart from Safdarjung Station after the logistics approval are completed.</b>
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