Only 41 lady cops deployed to ensure safety of female passengers in trains

Kannur: Only 41 women police officers are deployed for ensuring the safety of female passengers in trains in the state. The officers in 13 railway stations in Kerala have to guard the lady passengers in both platforms and inside the trains. Due to staff shortage, the women help desks of these stations are not functioning properly. The demand for increasing the strength of women cops in railway police stations has not been met yet.

Only one lady cop has been appointed in Kasaragod RP station. A similar situation exists in almost all districts as the number of women cops in different stations are as follows: Kannur - 3, Kozhikode - 5, Palakkad - 3, Shoranur - 2, Thrissur - 3, Kottayam - 3, Ernakulam - 6, Punalur - 2, Alappuzha - 5, Kollam - 3, Thiruvananthapuram - 3 and Parassala - 2.

Though it was decided to appoint women SIs in five major railway stations including Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Shoranur and Kannur, the appointments are not completed even after 5 years. The decision was based on a report submitted by the then railway police chief Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar. Women SIs are appointed in the Railway Protection Force in Kannur and Kozhikode.