Mumbai: Crime on the railways has seen an increase in the past year, while detection rates have come down according to the statistics compiled by the GRP. However, the good news is that recovery of stolen property has also increased.
   Of the 2,343 offences lodged last year, 1,675 were solved. The rate of detection in 2009 was 71% as opposed to 75% in 2008 and 74% in 2007. The recovery rate of stolen property was 46% last year, while it was 41% in 2008 and 39% in 2007. Cases of chainsnatching, bag lifting, mobile theft and drugging passengers have surged.
   GRP commissioner T Chavan said they would increase patrolling on stations. The Rapid Action Force, consisting of a four-member team, and the Riot Control Platoon (RCP), will be posted at nodal railway stations like Dadar, Kurla, Mumbai Central, Borivli and CST. The RCP personnel are being trained on the lines of Force One at the SRPF Group-I grounds in Pune.
   There were 3,706 accidental deaths on train tracks last year, as against 3,782 deaths in 2008 and 3,997 in 2007. A total of 4,037 people were injured last year—775 while crossing tracks, 56 fell in the gap between trains and platforms, 1,863 fell off moving trains and 168 were hurt after hitting railway poles.
   “We have started a system where photographs of an unclaimed body of an accident victim are clicked by police station personnel. The photo is mailed to my office and information about the victim is relayed on the wireless. We then pass this information on to the Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Navi Mumbai police,’’ said Chavan. “We have also written to the railways, requesting them to upload photographs of accident victims on their website. This will enable faster identification.’’ Last week, an accident victim died at Wadala after it took three hours to take him to the hospital.
   The GRP has also proposed setting up of new police stations at Nala Sopara and Tilak Nagar and bifurcating the police station at Kalyan. They have also demanded an additional manpower of 200 at each of these police stations. The GRP has also started a drive where they keep tabs on repeat offenders as in most cases, these men commit crimes again after getting bail. In 2009, 264 repeat offenders were nabbed, which resulted in 76 cases being solved and a recovery of Rs 10.57 lakh.
   The GRP commissioner felicitated Nishant Pandit, who had helped nab a murder accused, Deepak Burman after the latter was spotted trying to push out a suitcase into Vasai creek. The suitcase contained the corpse of Burman’s friend, Mohan Jagtap.