Police To Patrol Delhi Metro Coaches Following Row Over Objectionable Videos

Officials said on Tuesday that uniformed security personnel and staffers in plain clothes will start patrol soon.

An official at the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said the metro is looking to improve security and surveillance by implementing several measures.

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The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has decided to strengthen patrolling at metro stations and inside trains after some objectionable videos went viral earlier. Officials said on Tuesday that uniformed security personnel and staffers in plain clothes will start patrol soon, reported PTI. This decision has been taken after the latest video that surfaced on social media purportedly showed a couple kissing while sitting on the floor of a metro coach. After seeing the video, the DMRC was prompted to appeal to the commuters to "refrain from indulging in such obscene activities".

A senior official said, as quoted by PTI, "In the light of recent videos, the metro is looking to improve security and surveillance by implementing several measures.”

He further said, "One such measure includes patrolling in trains by uniformed police personnel and plain clothes (DMRC) staff.”

According to the official, the move will help deter threats and inconvenience to passengers, including women.

This comes after the DMRC recently wrote to the Delhi Police to act on strengthening patrolling at stations and inside metro coaches to curb such incidents, as cited by PTI. 

Currently, there are CCTV cameras in coaches on all lines, except on some old trains on line one. The official said they are installing more such CCTVs in those coaches during the ongoing refurbishment process and also at metro stations to "monitor any objectionable activity".

The current decisions have been announced after the video of the couple kissing in a metro coach went viral on social media and left many people enraged.

After the incident, some users urged the DMRC to take appropriate action on the matter, while others questioned the idea of filming the act.

Meanwhile, the DMRC has requested commuters and passengers to report such incidents to the "nearest available metro staff/CISF immediately so that appropriate action can be taken," reported PTI.

In April also, a video went viral that was purportedly showing a scantily-clad woman travelling in a Delhi Metro coach. The incident prompted the DMRC to request its commuters to maintain social etiquette in public places.

In the recent past also, the DMRC had appealed to the people through its social media handles, not to film videos or make reels by causing inconvenience to fellow riders.