No instruction to give pistols in place of rifles to RPF jawans on trains: Central Railway

The decision to provide RPF personnel automatic rifles was taken in 2008 after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack

Mumbai: The Railway Board has not given any directive to replace the automatic rifles of Railway Protection Force (RPF) escorting parties with pistols in the wake of the recent train firing incident, the Central Railway said on Friday.

Addressing a press conference on the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, CR general manager Naresh Lalwani said no such communication has been received.

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He too had not issued any directive to the RPF to replace rifles with pistols, he added.

The Railway Board has set up a high-level committee to probe the incident in which RPF constable Chetan Singh gunned down Assistant Sub-Inspector Tikaram Meena and three passengers on Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express (of Western Railway) on July 31.

The decision to provide RPF personnel automatic rifles was taken in 2008 after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.
A section of media reported that a proposal to replace rifles with pistols came up after the July 31 incident.

Talking about the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, Lalwani said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stones of improvement works at railway stations across the country including three in Mumbai on August 6.

The scheme envisages upgradation or modernization of 76 railway stations of the Central Railway. “The foundation stone will be laid at 38 stations,” he said.

Upgradation of stations will include improvement of amenities including access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lifts/escalators as necessary, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, better passenger information systems, executive lounges and landscaping, the official said.

The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyang persons, sustainable and environment-friendly solutions, provision of ballast-less tracks, ‘Roof Plazas’ as per necessity and creation of city centers at stations in the long term, Lalwani said.