New Delhi: With a string of controversial videos made in Delhi Metro trains and premises going viral in the last several months, DMRC chief Vikas Kumar has appealed to people to refrain from engaging in "objectionable" activities and said steps were being taken to curb such incidents.
In a interview with PTI, Kumar also said squads do "surprise checks" from time to time and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is "trying its best" to check these activities.Seeking fame, some metro riders in the past have often resorted to gyrating on some popular numbers inside train coaches or at platforms, while someone else filmed it. In other cases, videos have emerged on social media platforms such as Instagram where young couples have been filmed getting intimate in a train.
On one occasion, a video of a young woman in a skimpy dress had gone viral on X, triggering an online debate on public decency and freedom of an individual. Kumar, the managing director of the DMRC, said security personnel cannot be posted everywhere on the metro premises and urged passengers to report such incidents to authorities.
"We first of all try to counsel such people (who resort to such activities). And, we appeal to those people to refrain from engaging in such objectionable activities for the good of society. A person cannot be present everywhere. It is a responsibility of citizens also that if they see such objectionable activities, they should catch hold of such people and bring it to the notice of authorities," he said in the recent interview with PTI.
There are designated squads in place, which do surprise checks from time to time, Kumar added. While the CISF is tasked with guarding the premises of Delhi Metro stations, there are DMRC squad members in civvies who conduct checks for any violation of norms, including men entering into coaches reserved for women.
"We try our best. We have curbed such activities (making of videos). Many such activities may not be known to people as to what we have stopped," Kumar said. While the Delhi Metro, a lifeline for Delhi-NCR, has made it into the hearts of people of this region in its journey of over 20 years, these controversial videos have at times somewhat tarnished its otherwise spotless image, attracting unwarranted criticism.
In October, a video showing a couple getting intimate in a Delhi Metro train had gone viral sparking an outrage among people on social media. The undated video showed a man, purportedly in an act of romance, sipping on a soft drink and transferring the beverage from his mouth to the mouth of his female friend.