Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has announced a reward of Rs 100,000 for any tip-off that helps foil a robbery or any other serious crime on passenger trains.

Anybody who leads the railway police to goods looted from train passengers will also be rewarded.

"I am announcing here that the railways will give a reward of Rs 1 lakh to any individual who gives information about criminals behind rail robberies," Lalu said in Patna on Sunday.

The minister said he will take tough action against the mafias involved in crimes on trains.

He, however, said the Government Railway Police alone cannot fight the menace. "We need help from passengers and the public in general...anybody who has any information that can be of help to GRP must come forward," Lalu said.

He was addressing a small meeting before flagging off a DMU train.

Lalu said it would be wrong to label Bihar as a dangerous place for train journeys. "It is a part of a propaganda to damage Bihar's image," he said.

Quoting from a national survey, Lalu said it is Maharashtra and not Bihar that leads the tally on crimes in trains. Uttar Pradesh comes second followed by Bihar, he added. "I am not saying that it is a matter of pride that Bihar is on the third spot. But Bihar is not the only state where crimes in trains take place. Let's recognise this fact," he said.

The minister said murders in trains in Bihar are directly or indirectly connected with mafias that have a vice-like grip over railway contracts.