The Delhi Police has asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to take measures to prevent breaches and suicides on its premises, sources have revealed. In a letter to DMRC, the police urged the DMRC to pay attention to five points – CCTV cameras on railway tracks, better lighting at dark spots, taking down trees at the boundary of metro stations, increasing the number of guards at platforms and other areas in the premises, and installing platform screen doors (PSD) at the stations.
The letter highlighted two incidents of ‘mysterious’ graffiti found on train coaches parked at the Yamuna Bank Yard and near Shahdara Metro station in East Delhi in March and April of this year. The suspects allegedly breached security at the Yamuna Bank Metro Yard and Shahdara Metro station to spray paint the wagons late at night. The wagons were covered with multiple colours, and words like ‘Demo’ and ‘AAA’ were scrawled on them. The police are yet to nab the suspects as no one was caught in any of the cameras installed in the periphery of the metro trains.
Delhi Police also visited several states including Kerala, Gujarat and West Bengal, where similar cases have been seen in the past few years. In these cases, certain foreign nationals were also found to be involved.
According to sources, the Delhi Police has noted that cable thefts from metro tracks are a frequent occurrence. Recently, services at four metro stations were disrupted due to the theft of signalling cables at Jhilmil Metro Station in northeast Delhi. Sources also revealed that over 200 cases of cable theft from metro tracks and premises have been reported in the past four years.
An officer, speaking on the condition of anonymity, suggested that installing CCTV cameras along the metro tracks and improving lighting in dark areas could enhance security. He also mentioned that in one graffiti incident, it was suspected that the perpetrators had climbed a tree to access the train parked on the tracks.
In July this year, the Delhi Police sent a letter to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, urging them to install platform screen doors at the remaining 120 metro stations, citing the rising number of suicide cases. Police sources noted that out of 190 metro stations in Delhi, only 70 are equipped with these doors, which are effective in preventing suicides.
