Bhubaneswar, February 4: The Visakhapatnam Railway Station under the East Coast Railway (ECoR) has achieved a significant milestone in strengthening passenger security with the successful real-time identification and apprehension of habitual offenders through the AI-powered Facial Recognition System (FRS) of Rail Robocop “ASC Arjun.”

According to an ECoR statement, on the night of February 2 at about 20:10 hrs, Rail Robocop “ASC Arjun,” deployed for surveillance and patrolling, detected a suspect by matching his facial image with the pre-loaded database of known criminals. The system immediately alerted the RPF CCTV Control Room, Visakhapatnam.

Upon receipt of the alert, the on-duty CCTV staff Head Constable B.S. Narayana analysed the live CCTV feed and promptly informed the on-duty officer Sub Inspector V. Keerthi Reddy along with the Crime Prevention Detention Squad (CPDS) team of Waltair Division, who were present at the station. Acting swiftly on the alert, the team conducted a coordinated check and successfully apprehended a habitual offender, Hadapa Shiva (39 years) and his associate G. Bhangaru.

Both individuals failed to produce any valid journey tickets and were brought to the RPF Post, Visakhapatnam for further action. Verification of their antecedents revealed that both persons are hardcore habitual offenders with extensive criminal histories registered at Rayagada Police Station, involving multiple serious offences such as theft, robbery, dacoity, assault, and arms-related cases over several years.

The apprehension was immediately informed to GRP Visakhapatnam, and further joint interrogation was conducted by RPF, GRP and their teams. After detailed enquiry, it was concluded that the suspects had entered the station area without valid authority and were detected at the entry stage itself by the AI-enabled Facial Recognition System of Rail Robocop “ASC Arjun.”

As both offenders were found travelling without tickets, they were dealt with under the provisions of the Indian Railways Act, 1989 (Amended 2003). The matter was also intimated to Rayagada Police for further necessary action.

Appraising the achievement of Rail Robocop ASC Arjun, the ECoR General Manager Parmeshwar Funkwal said that the incident proved to be an effective technological intervention in enhancing passenger security.