Slum boys' quirk of placing coins on tracks and theft of signal system wires to fund drug habit is causing so much damage that trains are often held up in city, say cops
Slum boys' quirk of placing coins on tracks and theft of signal system wires to fund drug habit is causing so much damage that trains are often held up in city, say cops
Trains arriving at or departing from the Pune railway station have often been delayed in recent months because of damage to vital railway systems caused by boys living in the nearby slums, and the police say superstition and drug addiction is behind most of the mischief.
Small big trouble: Coins placed on tracks often block or break important
interconnecting cables. Representation Pic
The placing of a coin on the tracks by slum boys to flatten and use it as a lucky charm has been increasingly observed by the police, and the problem is the coin often slips between the tracks and blocks or breaks important interconnecting cables.
More than 40 different trains from the city to at least three states were delayed by an average of 15 minutes in the past few months. Railway Protection Force (RPF) officials have also pointed out that slum children are often addicted to ink whitener, and to fund their addiction they steal copper wires from signals and tracks, causing system breakdowns that delay trains.
Problem areas
Slum areas around Shivajinagar, Khadki and Dehu Road and Wadgaon are the hot spots for such incidents. The police say teenaged slum boys addicted to whiteners steal copper wires from signals and tracks and sell these in the scrap market, where they fetch anywhere between Rs 200 and Rs 500.
"The boys even put coins on the tracks for a train to pass over and flatten it, superstitiously believing that it will protect them from dog bites. The flattened coins are also used as talismans to be worn around the neck for protection from evil," said Senior Police Inspector A N Dhotre from the RPF Dehu Road police station.
Talking about some recent cases, an RPF official said that last month a 16-year-old boy who was high on whitener was caught around 6.30 pm near Dehu Road while trying to remove a copper wire from a signal.
"We spotted him during a regular patrol and he wasn't even able to talk properly. When asked about the reason behind the theft, he first said he was doing it for fun but later claimed he wanted to buy another bottle of whitener," said the official, requesting anonymity. "He was from the slums and was a Std V dropout. He was produced before the juvenile court the next day.
Central Railway PRO A K Singh said, "This year alone, the RPF has registered eight cases of railway property theft and has booked offenders under Section 174 of the Indian Railways Act."
'Cure' for dog bite
In January, two schoolboys were caught near Khadki while placing a coin on the railway tracks. Although it did not cause any damage, railway officials said they were shocked when they heard that the boys had been doing this since they believed that these coins cured dog bites. The boys were reprimanded by the constables.
There have been three to four cases of whitener-addicted boys causing damage to railway property where at least two of the children have been let off with a warning.
Major trains hit
The effect on trains because of damage caused to slum boys is also severe. Several trains passing through Pune railway station have been delayed by 15 to 20 minutes this year alone. On April 15, many important trains going towards Mumbai and Bangalore were delayed due to miscreant activity. The 16382 Cape Mumbai Express, the 11036 Sharavati Express towards Dadar and the 12116 Siddheshwar Express towards CSTM were delayed by around 15 minutes each. The Bangalore Express too was delayed by 10 minutes. Several trains running within the state, like the ones between the city and districts like Satara, Sangli and Latur, have also been affected.
Expert speak
Narendra Dabholkar, from the Andhashrddha Nirmulan Samiti, said that people turn to drugs and superstitions as an escape from reality instead of dealing with problems logically and rationally. "Even rich elite people have some dangerous superstitions, but the economically weaker class is most affected by them," said Dabholkar.
He also expressed serious concern about whitener addiction, saying it is spreading rapidly because of wide availability.
"I have an organisation in Satara district called Parivartan where 40 to 50 young boys aged between 13 and 16 are addicted to whitener," he said. "Schools should spread awareness about the horrors of such addiction, but they fail to do it."
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