In the wake of the brutal and shocking murder of teenager Junaid Khan in a local train near Haryana's Ballabgarh, Delhi Police has decided to beef up security at small stations in the Capital.
According to highly-placed sources in Delhi Police, there are 45 small stations in the Capital and the concerned station house officers (SHO) have been directed to regularly travel on local passenger trains.
"There are seven police stations in Delhi meant for railway safety and all the SHOs have been directed by their seniors to visit these railway stations as well as to meet the passengers to instill confidence in them," said a source.
Clear instructions have been issued to the police personnel to make their presence felt not only in major railway stations but also at small stations.
"The police personnel should ask local passengers about the problems they face which will help police identify issues inside trains and also to identify troublemakers," said the source.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways) Parwaiz Ahmed told The Statesman that cooperation of passengers is important to curb crime.
"Passengers should follow rules and regulations and cooperate with Delhi Police which will help in curbing crime, "said Ahmed.
He added that they have been taking several initiatives which have resulted in a decline in crime. Sometimes the DCP himself in plain clothes travels on a passenger train to gauge the situation. "Our police team in plain clothes regularly travels in trains to review security," said the DCP.
Sources said police routinely get two or three phone calls about scuffles or arguments on the trains. They said more focus has been given to small stations like Daya Basti, Shakurbasti, Delhi Cantonment, Okhla and Nizamuddin.
On 22 June, Junaid and his brothers, Hashim and Shaqir, were returning home to Khandawali village in Palwal after Eid shopping in Delhi.
According to police, one of the accused, a 50-year-old man, had entered into an altercation with Junaid and his brothers over seat sharing from Delhi's Okhla area. The accused made some remarks hurting the victims’ religious sentiments. However, the quarrel escalated after three youth, who had boarded the train at New Town Faridabad, also joined the fight.
"In between the scuffle the accused pulled out a knife and attacked Junaid," police said. Junaid's body was dumped near Asaoti village in Faridabad district.