The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet, in a meeting held in New Delhi on 1 August 2025 and chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the proposal of the Ministry of Railways to appoint Ms Sonali Mishra as the new Director General (DG) of the Railway Protection Force (RPF).

In the 143-year history of the RPF, Sonali Mishra will be the first woman to command the Force.

RPF traces its history back to the establishment of the Watch and Ward set up by private Railway companies in 1861, aimed at protecting railway properties.

Tenure of Sonali Mishra as DG of RPF

According to the notification issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Sonali Mishra will be DG of the RPF till her retirement on 31 October 2026.

She succeeded Manoj Yadava as the DG of the RPF, who retired from his post on 31 July 2025.

About Ms Sonali Mishra

The 1993 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, Somnali Mishra, is from the Madhya Pradesh cadre.

She has been a distinguished police officer with more than 30 years of professional service.

She has served as the Director of the Madhya Pradesh Police Academy in Bhopal and as Additional Director General of Police (Selection/Recruitment), with additional charges as ADG, Police Training & Research Institute, Bhopal.

Sonlai Mishra has also served with the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and has been part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Kosovo.

She has been honoured with the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service and the Police Medal for Meritorious Service.

About the Railway Protection Force (RPF)

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) was established on the recommendation of a High Power Committee on Railway Security, set up by the Government of India in 1954.

The committee was headed by the then Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Bhola Nath Mullick.

The committee recommended that the Watch and Ward set up by the private Railway Companies in 1861 should be made a statutory body and replaced with a professional force to protect the assets of the railways and prevent theft.

Based on the committee's recommendation, the Parliament passed the Railway Protection Force Act, 1957, which established the present RPF.

In 1985, the RPF Act 1957 was amended, and the RPF was granted the status of Armed Forces.

The RPF is under the Union Ministry of Railways.

Function of the RPF

The RPF Act and the relevant Railway Act have been amended from time to time by the central government, which has laid down the following functions of the RPF:

It is responsible for the security of passengers travelling on trains and passenger areas, along with the power to inquire and prosecute under the Railways Act.
It is responsible for the protection of goods sheds, goods wagons at stations and parcel offices, but not the railway station and its premises.
It is partially responsible for escorting passenger trains and access control at the railway stations along with the Government Railway Police.
It is also deployed to assist the State government in maintaining law and order.

Motto of RPF: Yasho Labhasva

About the Government Railway Police (GRP)

Law and order are state subjects in India. To maintain law and order on the railway property, the state governments have constituted the Government Railway Police (GRP).

The GRP is responsible for the detection and prosecution of crimes committed within the railway premises or on trains.
The GRP is responsible for the security of the railway station premises, controlling passenger traffic on the station, maintaining order in passenger trains that halt at the railway stations, etc.
The RPF assist the GRP in escorting the passenger trains.