The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has found a new ally in preventing suicide at metro stations. Thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), the Force has not only managed to prevent 103 suspected and attempted suicide cases in the past three years but also tracked down ‘suspicious’ articles across the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) network.
CISF Director-General Rajesh Ranjan said for security purposes and to prevent suicide cases on Delhi metro, they have built a control room at each metro station to keep a watch on every corner of the station with the help of CCTV network.
Detect unusual activities
“We are using artificial intelligence, video analytics, facial recognition software and robotics to keep our metro stations safe from any terror activities. These technologies also helped us to attend to any passenger in distress or need some kind of counselling,” said Mr. Ranjan.
The AI helps to recognise persons sitting on platforms for too long and helps detect unusual activities. In normal cases, passengers often board the earliest metro as soon as they arrive at the platform. However, there are cases when a person in distress sits aloof, unknown to his surroundings.
Alert is flashed
“With the help of AI, we identify persons on the platform for too long. When a person is identified, an alert is flashed on the screen in the control room. The control room in-charge forwards the message to other staff members who reach out to the person enquiring if any assistance is needed,” said Mr. Ranjan.
The CISF said that from 2017 till January 2019, they have managed to save 27 people from committing suicide and have saved lives of another 76 people by providing them medical aid after the suicide attempt.
In February 2018, a CISF control room in-charge was on duty at Rohini West metro station when he detected unusual activity on the platform where a man was trying to leap from the elevated station towards the road below.
The in-charge did not waste any time by flashing messages on walkie-talkie to alert security personnel, but he himself rushed towards the platform and brought the person down safely. The man was upset after an argument with wife.
The CISF took over charge of the DMRC security with a sanctioned strength of 1,633 in the year 2007. At present, 7,524 CISF personnel cover 239 metro stations in Delhi-NCR. CCTVs have been installed at all the stations.
