GUWAHATI, Jan 14 - Railway Police has expressed concern on low-grade employees being used as carriers and facilitators by contraband smugglers in the North East.
Recent instances of railway employees indulging in illegal activities for quick bucks has now compelled the authorities concerned to keep a tab on its own men.
A senior Railway Police official, when asked, said, �Following a spurt in illegal smuggling of contraband through railways, security had been beefed up across the State, especially on trains linking neighbouring Nagaland, which is why the wrong doers nowadays tend to woo the low-grade employees to smuggle the goods.�
Referring to a recent instance of railway electrician found with ganja in the Rajdhani Express, the official said, �During questioning, he confessed to have fallen prey to the lucrative offer made by those dealing in drugs. As railway employees, for obvious reasons, are not subjected to frisking or any kind of checking, they become the obvious choices for the smugglers.�
The official further pointed out that besides contrabands, arms smuggling through railway also is a matter of concern.
�In the last couple of years, there has also been a rise in the number of security personnel caught with either contraband or arms. Dealing in arms and ammunition for some extra quick money is a trend that has come to the fore in the recent time.�
