State responsible for maintaining law and order, says Union Minister on Varkala train attack

Union Railway Ministry Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday that maintaining law and order and preventing crimes against the passengers on railway properties is vested with the State governments.

The Minister informed this in reply to a question raised by K. Radhakrishnan, MP, in the Parliament on the increasing number of incidents of violence against women passengers on trains and railway premises in Kerala, including the recent Varkala train attack case. 

‘Police’ and ‘public order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India and therefore, the State governments are responsible for prevention, detection, registration, and investigation of crime and maintenance of law and order on railways through their law enforcement agencies, viz., Government Railway Police (GRP)/State police, said the Minister. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) supplements the efforts of the GRP/ State police to provide better protection and security to railway property, passengers and for matters connected with them, he added.

The incident

On November 02, 2025, a woman passenger, while travelling by sitting on the footboard of a coach, was forcibly pushed out of a running train near the Varkala railway station by another passenger apparently under the influence of alcohol. The GRP, Thiruvananthapuram, had registered a case against the accused person, who was arrested. The incident was further corroborated by the footage obtained from the CCTV fitted inside the coach. Further legal action is being taken by the police against the accused, said the Minister.

The safety of women is accorded high priority in Indian Railways. A slew of measures are taken by the Railways in coordination with the GRP for the safety of women passengers on trains and at railway stations in Kerala, including the RPFescorting women passengers in addition to GRP personnel on vulnerable and identified routes/sections. Under the ‘Meri Saheli’ initiative, focussed attention has been provided for the safety and security of women passengers travelling alone on long-distance trains for their entire journey, i.e., from originating station to destination station. Further, surveillance is kept through CCTV cameras provided in a number of coaches and railway stations.

Campaigns are also being conducted against the entry of male passengers into the compartment reserved for women, and legal action is taken against the offenders, said the Minister.