New Delhi

Security at railway stations beefed up

NEW DELHI: With the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition falling on Saturday, railway stations in the Capital have stepped up security to prevent any untoward incident.

According to sources in the Railway Protection Force, the emphasis mainly is on anti-sabotage as well as prevention of trespassing at major stations including New Delhi, Old Delhi, Sarai Rohilla and Hazrat Nizamuddin.

“Though we have not got any specific input for Saturday, as a general precaution we have intensified checks on passengers and luggage and put all our staff on maximum alert. The majority of our staff has been shifted from office duty to the station area for effective access control at the station premises,” said an RPF officer.

According to Northern Railway spokesperson R. Saxena, security at the railway stations was already tightened in the wake of the recent terror attacks in Mumbai, including the one at Chhattrapati Shivaji Terminus. “The heightened security cover which is already in place at the stations would continue to remain in place and we are not anticipating any kind of trouble,” he added.

The security measures undertaken through co-ordinated efforts of Northern Railway, Railway Protection Force and Delhi Police include deployment of commandos and additional security personnel at all the access points to the stations, increased surveillance checks and stationing of bomb disposal squad teams at the stations to avoid delay in arriving at the site in case of a mishap.

Luggage checks have also been intensified with the aid of hand-held and metal door detectors as well as through inspection by dog squads. Bomb disposal squads and Quick Reaction Teams equipped with light weapons and bullet proof jackets have also been deployed at the stations for high-profile patrolling.

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