Hyderabad: Despite being advised not to travel in the compartments reserved for the physically-challenged, able-bodied passengers continue to do so. The Railway Protection Force has intensified its action to put an end to this practice.

Unruly passengers who are found smoking, littering on the platform, crossing the railway tracks and travelling in the compartment reserved for the physically-challenged are charged under the provisions of the Railways Act of 1989. Secunderabad RPF inspector Ramgopal Reddy, says, “On a daily basis, we catch hold of 500 to 600 passengers travelling in coaches reserved for women or for differently-abled individuals.”

As of the October 5, 522 people have been booked by the RPF for trespassing and they have been fined Rs 14,20,900 in all; 3,752 have been penalised for littering and fined Rs 7.5 lakh in all; 1,601 have been penalised under the Cigarettes and Tobacco Products Act of 2003 and fined Rs 3.2 lakh in all.

The RPF officers say that since the people charged and arrested are petty offenders and not notorious criminals, it is their duty to conduct counselling sessions and awareness programmes, with support from other departments to reduce the number of offences committed.

“About 14,000 passengers have been prosecuted so far in 2017, while 10,146 passengers were booked in 2016. A majority of the people arrested are men, women and transgenders in the age-group of 20 to 35 years,” says Mr Ramgopal Reddy. The defaulters nabbed by the RPF are handed over to Government Railway Police (GRP) and subsequently sent to the Railway Magistrate in Secunderabad.