‘Pink Patrol’ of Railway Police Nabs Offenders, Drone Surveillance Protects Women Passengers in MMTS

Hyderabad: The work of the drone-led ‘Pink Patrol’ of UAV pilots of the Railway Protection Force on Tuesday led to the arrest of a man carrying a stolen mobile phone and a packet of narcotics and sleeping pills. According to RPF’s press note, the all-female team of drone pilots observed a person in the station building acting suspiciously and providing unusual proximity to passengers. This was also confirmed by female RPF personnel deployed in the field. As a result of coordinated surveillance input and rapid response, the suspect was located and apprehended before leaving the station premises, police said.

After searching him, RPF personnel found a suspected stolen mobile phone without a SIM card, worth around £28,000, as well as a parcel containing cannabis and sleeping pills. Verification revealed that the captured individual had a history of multiple criminal cases, including attempted murder and home invasion. He was handed over to the government railway police in Kacheguda for further legal action and investigation. RPF also said that the drone team helped arrest two persons, resulting in the recovery of stolen goods worth around ₹92,480.

Debashmita C. Banerjee, senior security commissioner of RPF-Hyderabad, told Deccan Chronicle that Pink Patrol is the first such initiative in the country to ensure the safety of women, especially those traveling in MMTS trains.

Pink Patrol personnel are trained in using drones and are licensed by the Director General of Civil Aviation. Banerjee said a woman passenger told her that there has been no harassment of women at the stations since the drone force became operational and no one had boarded the women’s coach. The official said there has been a significant drop in harassment, theft and stone-throwing cases. “Criminals are now afraid to even enter the platforms due to monitoring by Pink Patrol drones,” he said. C.

Drones feature thermal imaging, night vision capability, HD video transmission and long-range zoom capture.