WR molestation case: CM defends railway staffers

Stating that there was no failure in discharge of duties on the part of the railway police employees or RPF jawans, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the suspect assailant who tried to molest a young girl in a Churchgate-bound local between Grant Road and Charni Road was arrested within four days and a chargesheet was filed against him in the court.

MLAs from various parties, including Yashomati Thakur, Dipika Chavan, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and Jitendra Avhad, had raised the issue through a starred question. Fadnavis, in his written reply, maintained that there was no failure on the part of railway police or RPF jawans in this regard. He said after the victim narrated the incident, FIR was filed on August 7 and the suspect was arrested on August 10. Subsequently, the CM said, a chargesheet was filed before the court and a woman police officer is investigating the case.

Fadnavis also informed that for the reserved bogie for women, 238 police employees and 119 home guards have been deployed for the central circle and 186 police and 95 home guards have been deployed for the western circle. He said in every local, two armed police constables were deployed and for the third bogie reserved for women, a home guard was deployed. He also said a separate Nirbhaya squad has been set up to take action against passengers involved in theft of ornaments and other things.

The CM said women security committees have been formed, comprising senior police inspectors, women police employees, NGOs, journalists and women commuters as representatives. He said women cells have been set up in railway police stations and CCTV cameras have been put at all railway stations, along with starting of a helpline and Facebook addresses.

WR molestation case:
On the night of August 6 this year, a 19-year-old from Odisha, employed in a suburban hotel, entered the ladies compartment of a Churchgate-bound train at Grant Road and molested a commuter who was alone in the compartment at the time. The accused jumped off the train when it halted for a brief while at the northern end of Charni Road station. The commuter was helped by passengers at Marine Lines station to file a complaint with the station master. The case was later transferred to the Churchgate railway police. Based on a tip-off, the accused was arrested by the RPF personnel from the red-light area of Grant Road around 12.15pm on August 10.The RPF registered a case under sections 162 (unlawfully entering a ladies compartment) and 145B (creating nuisance within railway premises) of the Railway Act before handing him over to the Churchgate railway police.