New Delhi: Seeking further enhancement of travel experience for train passengers, Union Minister Rajnath Singh urged the Railway Ministry to explore the possibility of registering First Information Reports (FIRs) online to expedite the process of investigation. Stating that administrative issues, at times, cause harassment to people, Singh said it will be better to have online FIR facility. “There is no facility for a passenger to file an FIR online. If somebody is travelling by train (and something happens), he needs to visit the Government Railway Police (GRP) police station to get an FIR registered. It will then go to the state, to the district and eventually to the police station concerned. There is no guarantee that he would get the desired justice,” news agency PTI quoted Singh as saying.

The Union Home Minister was speaking at the All India Conference on Railway Security where he said that the objective of the event is very significant as it gives an opportunity to identify and review the security preparedness of railway security apparatus and also how the forces can serve the passengers better.

Assuring all possible support from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Singh further said that there has to be provisions for passengers to file FIR electronically. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also assured that he would look into whether the online filing of FIRs by railway passengers can be integrated into the CCTNS system that allows citizens to lodge FIRs electronically. Even Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who was present at the event, said he would look into the Home Minister's suggestion of online filing of the FIR.

As many as 24,000 cases of theft are registered by railway passengers on yearly basis, suggests an official data. “It is expected from all police personnel. Be it central or state police force, all police force personnel should have friendly behaviour with common people. We have been telling these to them,” Singh said at the event organised in the national capital on Wednesday.

Apart from proposing the facility of online FIR, Singh also suggested “theatre-specific” Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) avoid any untoward incident. “The railway has a huge network. Trains pass through Naxal-(affected) areas. There may be a fear of terrorist attack. There should be a theatre-specific SOPs to guide police personnel on how to act in a specific situation,” he said.

Concluding his speech, Singh also asked the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel to be sensitive and friendly with people. “It is expected from all police personnel. Be it central or state police force, all police force personnel should have friendly behaviour with common people. We have been telling these to them,” he said.