Two months after the Lonavla stationmaster was thrashed and robbed, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) seem to be indifferent towards providing security to over 80,000 commuters travelling between Pune-Lonavla daily.

no cover: Not a single security personnel from the RPF or GRP was present in the ladies compartment of this train

When this correspondent travelled from Pune to Lonavla by a local train that left platform number 6 at 4.25 pm and reached Lonavla at 6 pm, he observed that not a single RPF or GRP official was deployed in any of the coaches, including those reserved for women.

In addition, security personnel were conspicuous by their absence at the Lonavla station as well.

The correspondent then boarded the same local for Pune from platform number 2 at 6.25 pm, and here, too, not a single security personnel was deployed in any of the compartments.

When the train halted at Kirkee railway station for over 15 minutes to make way for a Mumbai-bound Express train, no security official was present on the entire platform.

Officialspeak
Yogendra Singh, PRO, Pune railway division, said, “It is the joint responsibility of the RPF and the GRP to provide security to the passengers.”