Zero police, non-CCTV rooms: How railway cops have been extorting passengers in Mumbai, 13 suspended in 5 months

Detailing the modus operandi, sources said the victims are usually passengers found carrying cash or valuables at luggage checking points. “They are told to meet a senior officer and taken to GRP rooms on platforms that don’t have CCTV cameras. There, the passengers are told to prove that the cash or jewellery actually belongs to them,” the officer said.

“Then, these passengers are threatened that their valuables would be seized and they would be thrown behind bars. In some cases, they are assaulted, too. The only way out for them is to pay money to these personnel,” the officer said.

Of the 13 personnel suspended, action against seven, including the Senior Inspector, was taken after GRP Commissioner Rakesh Kalasagar took charge in May. When contacted by The Indian Express, Kalasagar said, “Strict action will be taken against those indulging in such activities and this menace will not be tolerated. We appeal to citizens to only allow checking of bags by senior officers in uniform and under CCTV camera surveillance.”

In one such case last month, a Rajasthan-based complainant, travelling with his daughter, was allegedly forced to pay Rs 30,000 from the Rs 31,000 inside his bag at Mumbai Central Railway Station. After reaching Rajasthan, the victim filed a complaint following which an FIR was registered and transferred to Mumbai, leading to the suspension of three constables who are now on the run.

Railway activists like Sameer Zaveri have also provided details of vulnerable spots without CCTV coverage, including at the Mumbai Central station and others at Dadar and Borivali. “If passengers are found carrying cash, jewellery, gutkha, lighters or wine bottles (from Goa where prices are cheaper), they are escorted into rooms without CCTV where the extortion is carried out,” Zaveri told The Indian Express.

According to officers, such corruption is also facilitated by using “zero police” to collect money from passengers. “Zero police” is a term used to describe volunteers who help the police in their work, although this is not a recognised or official title.

“They imitate the style of cops and pose as them. They are used as informants, witnesses in criminal cases and, in some instances, to collect bribes. In the latest case, on September 1, where Rs 10.30 lakh was extorted, two of those arrested were ‘zero police’,” sources said.

Another officer said the menace first came to light in April 2016 when a TV channel aired clips purportedly of railway cops without nameplates extorting passengers during luggage checking.

Following that incident, the department issued a set of SOPs, including checking of luggage in view of CCTV cameras, and keeping a register of bags checked and conveying the details to the control room on the same day. GRP Commissioner Kalasagar has made some key changes, too, such as shuffling personnel posted for checking luggage.

Sources, however, said not all of them are effective. “For example, while the checking of luggage is carried out in front of cameras, the crime takes place in rooms where no CCTV cameras are present,” they said.

According to Zaveri, stricter measures should be implemented, including the mandatory use of body cameras by personnel on duty, installation of CCTV cameras in every room and immediate dismissal of personnel found guilty.

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