CISF directs quick reaction teams to increase patrols at Delhi metro stations to check crime against women

New Delhi: The CISF quick reaction teams (QRTs), including women commandos, have been directed to increase patrols in the dark and un-manned areas of the Delhi metro stations, a decision taken in the wake of an incident where a women was molested recently. [caption id=“attachment_1996267” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] CISF director general OP Singh on Friday reviewed the security of the Delhi metro network and issued stern orders to ensure that areas, like entry and exit points of these stations and unmanned passages, which are not part of the security mandate of the force are also put under an increased surveillance by patrol teams that keep swinging between multiple stations. “The quick reaction teams have been directed to increase their patrols and effectively check grey areas in the metro stations. The women personnel have also been asked to enhance vigil to check crime against ladies,” he told PTI. The Central Industrial Security Force is tasked with securing the Delhi metro but some areas like entry and exit points and the passage to the stations, called unpaid areas, are not under its cover. They are secured jointly by the CISF and the metro unit of the Delhi Police. The CISF Commanding Officers (COs) of all the lines of the Delhi metro, a senior official said, have been asked to undertake night patrols at those stations which have vulnerable spots. The DG has also talked to Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik in the issue, the official said. A 25-year-old man was arrested on Thursday in connection with an incident of molestation of a reporter of an English daily at the ITO Metro station. The accused, Akhilesh, a tea stall worker, who lives at a slum near the ITO, was drunk at the time of the incident, the police had said. Officials said the man had allegedly molested another woman just before he repeated the act with the journalist. The CISF has its vehicle-borne QRTs deployed between four-five stations and it keeps moving between these locations to thwart any terrorist like incident or crime. These teams have commando-trained troops equipped with smart communication gadgets and arms to take on any security threat. A CCTV footage of the molestation of the woman journalist on Friday showed that the man accosted her while entering the station at ITO, a location on the station where there is no CISF deployment. The CISF personnel are deployed well inside the station, just before the entry into the paid area, to physically frisk passengers and their luggage.