New Delhi: Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday honored 104 RPF personnel who had been awarded various medals over the past three years and announced a slew of plans to boost the Railway Protection Force, according to an official release. The minister honored the personnel who had been awarded the President’s Medal for Gallantry, Police Medal for Meritorious Service, President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service, and Jeewan Raksha Series of medals awarded in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
It was a poignant moment, when Sunita Devi, wife of Late Jagbir Singh, walked up to the dais to be honored by the minister. Late Jagbir Singh, laid down his life on duty while saving the lives of 4 children on a railway track between Adarshnagar - Azadpur railway section, Delhi. Displaying unmatched valor, he went beyond the call of his duty and without caring for his own life saved the lives of the 4 children. He had been posthumously awarded the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry as well as the Jeewan Raksha Medal.
The minister laid the foundation stone for the Central Command and Control Centre which will help the force monitor the national network through CCTV systems. The minister also inaugurated the “Meri Saheli Module” which has been developed in collaboration with CRIS and will assist the RPF teams of female officers in better coordination and monitoring across the network.
Meri Saheli is an initiative of RPF for the security of women passengers traveling alone. Vaishnaw dedicated a website for the force developed by CRIS and released a journal, training manual, and drill manual for the RPF. Further, to showcase the work being done by RPF, as well as to create an awareness in the public, a dedicated YouTube channel was inaugurated by the minister.
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Also, a specially designed Battle Fatigue Dress, an additional uniform to enhance the visibility and effectiveness of the force and to instill a sense of confidence among the personnel was launched by the minister. He also dedicated a theme song, the RPF Amrit Geet to the force. The song has been written by Aash Karan Atal, had music by Nitin Shanker and popular Bollywood singer Javed Ali has rendered it.
The railway minister said there will be a transformational change for RPF through the provision of earmarked capital investment and planning for security will be made integral to project planning. Towards this, the Gati Shakti Directorate would have representation of RPF officers. The minister further announced that an RPF Commando (CORAS) Training center at Jagadhari, Haryana will be set up at a cost of Rs 30 crore.
