Almost two-and-half years ago, the Indian Railways had announced about having a mobile application for passengers on which, commuters can register FIRs and complaints. Finally, this ‘Rail Suraksha App’ is ready – which got delayed due to Covid-19 pandemic and shall be launched soon. The main benefit of this App is that RPF, GRP and Railway staffs will receive an intimation immediately after a passenger registers complaint on it.
The App will address complaints ranging from loss of luggage, mobile theft, harassment inside trains, women safety, cases of drugging and other issues. The complaint will be treated as “zero FIR" which means that a FIR can be filed in any police station irrespective of place of jurisdiction and can be later transferred to the appropriate police station.
At present, a passenger is let stranded as they are made to run pillar to post on grounds that the case doesn’t fall under their jurisdiction. The passenger now need not wait for the next station to lodge a complaint. They will be able to complain through the mobile app and the Railway police will reach to help them.
“This App can be downloaded by passengers. The moment there is an incident, they can complain it on the App. At present, cases get complicated as train departs from the station, passengers alight and even staff’s work shift changes. The App is ready and tested and shall be soon launched. Unfortunately due to Covid, it got delayed,” said Arun Kumar, DG, RPF.
Currently, if there is an incident that train passenger wants to report, he has to fill up a complaint form provided by the ticket examiner which is submitted to the RPF or GRP at the next station. This form gets transferred into an FIR automatically. This lead to delays and passengers don’t get immediate relief.
The App can also be used by Train Ticket Examiner and rail staffs working who can also complain on it. It can also be used offline. The railways are already having ‘Operation My Saheli’ wherein they identify women commuters travelling alone, based on the ticket chart. Then, women RPF and GRP staff reach the seat number of that woman passenger and take their details like full name, phone number and destination and keep in constant touch with them till the journey is over.
