RPF Holds 20 Women Accused of Posing as Kinnars to Extort Train Passengers

Railway Protection Force Mirzapur reported on Saturday, 19 September 2026, that a special drive against women posing as Kinnars to extract money from train passengers has led to 20 arrests over three days on the Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya–Mirzapur–Vindhyachal–Prayagraj–Chheoki section. In-charge Chaman Singh Tomar said Friday’s haul alone was 11 women caught between Mirzapur and Chheoki, with ₹31,777 recovered and action opened under relevant sections of the Railways Act.

The Friday group was named as Anupa (50), Laksho Devi (40), Ani (32), Jyoti (34), Vimla (40), Jyoti (28), Shammi (37), Sita (49), Monga (36), Meenu (32) and Rajni (37). Seven were taken from an AC coach of train number 12487; four were caught at Chheoki station from train number 11402. Tomar said investigation indicated none of them were transgender persons; they allegedly enacted the Kinnar role to pressure passengers into paying, and some also collected money while selling garlands, flowers and pictures.

According to the RPF account, the women hail from Moga, Dharmkot and Ferozepur areas of Punjab but have been living in localities such as Kali Mohal in Mughalsarai (Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya) in Chandauli district to board trains on different routes. The drive began a couple of weeks ago after rising complaints on railway helpline 139. Eight women had been caught earlier in the same campaign; the three-day total reached 20.

Passenger extortion on long-distance coaches is a familiar corridor problem between eastern UP junctions. What the Mirzapur RPF stamp adds this week is a named Friday batch, train numbers, a cash recovery figure and an explicit allegation that the accused were impersonating Kinnars rather than belonging to the transgender community. Those points remain allegations pending court process.

For travellers using the DDU–Mirzapur–Prayagraj belt — a stretch Banaras passengers know well — the operational message from RPF is that helpline 139 complaints are feeding targeted coach checks. For Mughalsarai neighbourhoods named as temporary bases, the probe line is residence-and-route mapping, not a blanket label on any community. This desk does not invent prior conviction counts or gang hierarchy charts beyond Tomar’s briefing.

Saturday’s railway copy therefore stays inside the drive numbers. RPF Mirzapur says 20 women were held in three days for allegedly posing as Kinnars to extort passengers; Friday’s 11 yielded ₹31,777; trains 12487 and 11402 feature in the catch; and the accused are described as Punjab-origin residents operating from Mughalsarai. Further arrests, if any, will need their own date stamp before they enlarge this tally.

Coach attendants and ticket-checking staff on the same section often see the extortion pattern before a formal complaint lands on 139; the RPF drive converts those patterns into named arrests and a cash seizure log. Passengers who still face pressure should use the helpline rather than negotiate in the aisle — that advice is operational, not moralising, and matches Tomar’s stated reason for launching the checks.