GRP Personnel Allegedly Search Passengers At Spots Without CCTV Despite Railway Police Guidelines
GRP personnel allegedly searched passengers at Mumbai railway stations in areas without CCTV coverage, contrary to police guidelines, an FPJ visit found. Checks at Borivali, Mumbai Central and Bandra reportedly occurred in GRP rooms and under staircases. Railway Police Commissioner Rakesh Kalasagar said clear guidelines and an SOP had already been issued and recently reiterated.
GRP Personnel Allegedly Search Passengers At Spots Without CCTV Despite Railway Police Guidelines | AI
Mumbai: Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel are allegedly flouting Mumbai Railway Police guidelines, with passengers searched at spots without CCTV. The guidelines require inspections under CCTV surveillance and in the presence of a senior officer.
FPJ Finds CCTV Gaps
An FPJ visit to Borivli, Mumbai Central and Bandra stations found passengers being taken to GRP rooms, under-staircase areas and other spots without CCTV. At Borivali, three-four baggage-checking spots there lack effective CCTV coverage.
The issue comes amid allegations of GRP personnel demanding money and helping drug networks. Four personnel were recently suspended in two cases.
Guidelines Mandate Recording
Guidelines require inspections recorded, nameplates worn and searches under CCTV. CCTV-free rooms cannot be used; passengers should be taken only to a police station or police post.
Rajasthan-based Kamalkumar Soni, extorted of Rs30,000 at Mumbai Central in 2025 after GRP personnel found cash and gold, told FPJ he later faced similar checks at Borivali and Bandra. “On two occasions, police checked my bag without CCTV or recording the check. Once, at Borivali, they took me under a staircase near the foot overbridge. Other passengers were also taken there,” he said.
‘Taken Under Staircase’
Railway passenger activist Samir Zaveri said the crime detection room at platform 5, Mumbai Central Terminus, where an extortion incident occurred last year, still lacks CCTV. At CSMT, the second-floor tadipar room and a missing-person area lack cameras. At Borivali Railway Police Station, cameras on the first floor in the reece room and library are reportedly absent or non-functional.
In 2025, 13 GRP personnel, including a senior inspector, were suspended within five months for passenger extortion. In September 2026, constables Anil Gujar and Tushar Thakur were suspended over alleged assistance to gutkha suppliers, while Borivli GRP constables Lawrence Navghare and Rakesh Sonawane were suspended for allegedly releasing a drug suspect after accepting money.
Rakesh Kalasagar, Commissioner of Mumbai Railway Police, told FPJ, “We have already issued clear guidelines and an SOP in this regard. I reiterated the same during the last crime review meeting.”
Zaveri urged prominent display of the guidelines and compliance. Siddhesh Desai, vice-president, Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sanghtana, suggested body-worn cameras, citing UK police use.
The guidelines also require senior inspector presence, video recording when necessary, legal action on objectionable items or excess cash, and reasonable cause. The system was strengthened after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.
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