It is ironic that the very people who are supposed to protect women travellers, are instead posing a risk to them, even if inadvertently. Over six weeks, this newspaper tracked at least four instances of members of the Government Railway Police (GRP) leaving their weapons unattended on or near the seats in the women’s compartment even as they stand guard near the footboards.

The danger this poses is obvious. Last August, a constable shot himself dead with his rifle in the women’s compartment last August. An unattended weapon in the wrong hands may mean worse. A reporter from this paper spotted rifles that were kept below the window, many times there were children near the weapon. In one case, a child handled the gun and rested his feet on the gun. In another case, the rifle was kept in a spot that was not even visible to the cop through the crowd, even as women piled their handbags on the gun.