708. Special Instructions for escorting treasure by railway. [§12, Act V, 1861].
(a)The following instructions for the guidance of police officers-in-charge of remittances of treasure by railway are based on the orders issued in the Government of India's Resolution No. 144 of 12th January, 1880.(i)The police officer taking charge of a treasure escort travelling by railway will not see the treasure, packed at the treasury, but he will see the boxes weighed and satisfy himself that each box is properly secured before it is transferred to the van and that it is properly placed therein. Before the treasure is loaded, he shall examine the van and see that all openings or ventilators are safely fastened and that the van is secure in every way. If any defects are found he shall immediately bring the matter to the notice of the station-master and unless they are remedied or another and secure van provided he shall decline to load the treasure and forthwith report the matter to the Superintendent and the Treasury or Bank officer.(ii)The escort should be accommodated in a brake-van attached to the treasure-van, or in the end compartment of the carriage next adjoining the treasure-van, and the doors of the escorts carriage should never be locked.(iii)The escort commander will wire to the receiving officer the number of the train (passenger or goods) conveying the remittance and its hour of departure and will also wire again en route if any change in the train has been made or anything has occurred to delay its arrival.(iv)An officer relieving such an escort will see that the numbers of the wagons agree with those given in the blank receipt tendered for his signature, that the locks as well as all openings and ventilators in the van are secure, that the seals are unbroken and bear no sign of having been tampered with and that the locked doors of the van cannot be opened.(v)The escort commander should be provided with a lantern which will burn all night, and should cause a sentry to alight at every alternate stopping place and ascertain that the locks have not been tampered with. During any long stoppage a sentry must remain on duty at the door of the treasure wagon (both on the rear and off side of the wagon). If there be several such wagons, it will suffice to tell off four sentries, who may stand one on either side of the train at each end of the wagons.(vi)In case of a breakdown separating a convoy, the escort commander should separate his party, attaching himself to the disabled portion.(vii)On delivering the boxes at the treasury to which they are addressed, he will obtain a receipt for "... bags said to contain coin to the value of Rs. ..." or for "... boxes, with marks and weights detailed in the invoice, said to contain coin or notes to the value of Rs. ...". If any box be of short weight or show signs of having been tampered with, it should be opened in the presence of the escort officer; otherwise, he should be allowed to return at once.The form of receipt to be used by a relieving guard should run thus :-"Received charge from ..., Police officer of district of Railway wagon No. ... said to contain boxes aggregating Rs. wagon No. ... said to contain boxes aggregating Rs. ... (and so on). The wagons were duly locked and sealed, one key for each made over; Receipts to be given by other relieving guards are also acknowledged."The number and contents of each wagon should be detailed in case of a breakdown. The receipts should be in English, if the Police officer is acquainted with that language; otherwise, in the language ordinarily used by the officer.Note. - If the seals on a wagon are broken or bear signs of being tampered with or if wagon has not been sealed, it is the duty of the relieving escort officer to insist on the wagon being opened and the number of boxes counted before he gives a receipt, to the relieved officer. In such cases, the fact of the wagon having been opened and the number of boxes counted should be endorsed on the receipt.(viii)The escort officer will present the command certificate for examination to the remitting treasury or Bank Officer before the remittance is handed over to him. He should also present it for examination to the Treasury or Bank Officer taking charge of the treasure. The latter will satisfy himself that he is taking over the treasure from the officer named in the command certificate and will at the same time check the strength of the escort with that started in the command certificate, noting any difference that he may find. When all is correct, he will merely sign the command certificate.(ix)Whenever any breach of these rules occurs, the escort commander must insist on the treasure-van being detached from the trains and should immediately telegraph the facts to the remitting officer, to his own departmental superior, and to the Traffic Manager of the Railway.(x)When a poddar accompanies a remittance he is responsible during the whole course of the journey for the contents of the boxes and the police guard acts as an escort. The poddar will not interfere in any way in the performance by the escort of its legitimate duties but he must be permitted to satisfy himself that all necessary precautions are being taken. In the event of damage occurring to a box it is the duty of the poddar to take over any coin that may fall out and to verify the contents and repack the box if repacking becomes necessary. The escort commander must not permit the poddar to be interfered with in the execution of his duties.(b)When making a requisition on the railway authorities for carriage of specie, the Treasury officer will request the station-master to give the escort commander a note stating that it is in charge of treasure loaded in so many wagons and giving the number of each wagon.(c)On no account shall any Government remittance of specie be carried in a passenger carriage. It shall always be booked.(d)When Government treasure is loaded for despatch by railway the doors on the off side of the van shall be safely secured from the inside and all doors that can be opened from the outside shall be secured by good padlocks supplied by the Treasury officer. The officer-in-charge of the escort shall obtain a receipt for these padlocks from any guard which may relieve him, or from the Treasury officer of destination.(e)(i)Treasure for remittance shall be packed in stout bags, tied and sealed after a slip of paper has been placed in each, naming the treasury at which it was packed, the tale and description of the contents, and the name of the person who counted the contents; the Treasury officer shall satisfy himself generally of the contents of the bag.(ii)For journey by road, the bags may be packed in treasure tumbrils, or in large chests placed in carts at the door of the treasury in the presence of the Treasury officer; for journeys by railway or boat or (if convenient) by road, they shall be packed in stout boxes capable of containing Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 6,000 each, screwed and bound with iron without gunny covering or ropes, and the hoops should be riveted together where they cross; every box shall have the name of the treasury of despatch cut into or painted on it with a number.(f)If any chest, tumbril, or wagon be secured by double locks, one key should be held by the poddar and the other by the escort commander; if there be only one lock, the key should be held by the poddar, but the escort commander is responsible for not allowing the chest or wagon to be opened before arrival at its destination, save in case of a breakdown, when the treasure must be removed in his presence. In the case of remittances sent without poddars single locks should be used and the keys should be entrusted to the escort commander in a sealed cover which he should not open except when absolutely necessary in the case of a breakdown on the road.(g)When remittances are sent by steamers, the weight of each box shall be taken and noted at the time of its receipt on board the steamer. This shall be done in the presence of the agent (if there be one) accompanying the treasure on the part of the treasurer.(h)(i)When boats are used for escorting treasure or prisoners they shall be provided by the requisitioning authority.(ii)Boats shall on no account be more than 20 yards apart when travelling, and when anchored shall be tied together bow and stern.(iii)At least four constables shall travel in each boat, two in front and two behind the roofed-in portion.(iv)The escort commander shall be particularly careful to see that each box designed for water conveyance, or having to cross any stream in transit by land, is attached to a buoy, formed of a piece of unsplit bamboo about 3 feet in length and not less, than 9 inches in circumference, with a rope at least 20 cubits in length, one end of which shall be fastened to the box and other to an orifice in the bamboo buoy. The length of rope shall, of course, be increased in proportion to the known depth of the rivers by which the treasure is to be conveyed. This rope shall never be wound about the box, but shall be loosely coiled with the buoy upon box, so that, in the event of the boats sinking, the buoy may readily indicate the position of treasure and lead to its immediate recovery.(v)Should any boat or a steamer sink, the escort shall remain close to the spot, till relieved or till the treasure is recovered.(vi)Invoices shall be prepared in triplicate, and shall give the marks on every tumbril or chest, and the number and contents of each, and the marks and gross weight and the contents of every box. The escort commander shall count the bags as they are being stowed in the tumbril or chest or shall see the boxes weighed, and shall sign the receipt at the foot of each copy of the invoice as responsible for "... bags packed in tumbrils or boxes of marks and weights, detailed above, said to contain coin to the value of Rs. ....." The blanks shall be filled up in words, and if the escort commander be ignorant of English, he shall be required to write the number of bags or boxes which he has received in the vernacular on the copy to be retained by the Treasury officer; another copy shall be despatched by post on the same day to the remittee, and the third made over to the escort commander.Each invoice shall also be signed by the police officer to whose care the parcel is entrusted when notes are sent under the charge of a guard, but the police officer is not required to count the notes, as his signature is only a receipt for a packet said to contain certain notes. One invoice shall be sent by post to the Treasury office to whom the notes are consigned, and the other shall accompany the parcel.(j)When the escort commander is relieved in the course of the journey, he will obtain a receipt for "tumbrils in good order said to contain coin to the value of Rs. .... in bags" or for "..... boxes in good order, said to contain coin (or notes) to the value of Rs. .... ." When the remittance reaches the addressee, the latter shall count the bags and weight the boxes and give a receipt for "...., bags, said to contain coin to the value of Rs. ..." or for ".... boxes of marks and weights detailed in the invoice said to contain coin (or notes) to the value of Rs. ... ." Except in the cases referred to in clause (k), the escort commander shall be allowed to return at once.(k)In all cases in which there may be reasons to suspect that a remittance has been tampered with, either from external appearance or from a discrepancy between the description and weight of the boxes and the particulars given in the invoice, it shall be opened and examined forthwith in the presence of the Treasury officer and of the escort commander, and a strict enquiry shall be instituted in the event of any deficiency being discovered and the result reported by the Treasury officer to the remitting officer, to any officer who may have forwarded the remittance intermediately, and to the officer of account direct.(l)When treasure sent by railway arrives at its destination at night it shall not, if it is in a special wagon, be unloaded till morning. But when the treasure is in a brake van or on a steamer, and unloading at night is unavoidable, the escort sent to the station should be rather larger than the minimum scale laid down for the escort of treasure by road. The part of the station or land where the treasure is being moved should be carefully lighted.(m)Treasury officers may not refuse to receive remittances on the ground that the day is an authorised holiday. They should, however, remember not to despatch a remittance in a date which will probably cause its arrival on a day on which the treasury is ordinarily closed, such as Sundays or gazetted treasury holidays.
