GUWAHATI: The stretch from Lakhtokia Gate number 2 to Aathgaon flyover is populated by migrants and slum dwellers who are encroaching upon the railway land and it is all happening right under the nose of Railway Police Force (RPF).
A member of the Divisional Railway User Consultative Committee (DRUCC) has alleged that some of the RPF officials are in collusion with middlemen who are allowing the encroachment upon the railway land.
A DRUCC member, Tony Das, talking to G Plus said, “I had filed a written complaint with the RPF station located within the Guwahati railway station but the officials did not take any action.” He further said that later he tweeted the issue to the Railway authorities and after talking to the assistant security commissioner (ASC) a case was registered on two weeks back. Das said, “Some RPF officials based in Guwahati Railway Station are in nexus with the middlemen who allow encroachment on such lands.”
The source described that some gangs identify vacant railway land near the tracks and construct jhuggis (huts) there. Later, if a slum dweller is searching for a place to live in these gangs allot spaces to him in those areas and take rent from him on a daily basis.
Rs 20 to Rs 50 are taken from the slum dwellers every day. To make sure that they do not get evicted some officials of the RPF are bribed on a monthly basis by the gangs.
The source said, “These gangs are also involved in many illegal activities like drug peddling, smuggling and prostitution.”
Even the slum dwellers are gradually pulled into the criminal activities. Small children of the area are provided with intoxicants at a very early age so that as they grow into adults, they start working for the gang. It’s a cycle of crime going on since many years, revealed the source.
At times, after the railway authorities order eviction, the huts are demolished for a few days, but gradually the dwellers return and the RPF officials do not check the encroachment as they are “managed” by the gangs.