Woman allegedly raped in Bangalore-Tinsukia Express

Tinsukia, Sep 25: One person was arrested and the police are on the look-out for two more following a complaint lodged by a young woman that she was allegedly raped in the Bangalore-Tinsukia Express train on Thursday night just before the train had reached New Tinsukia, its last station.

The woman, who was traveling alone from Bangalore, rushed to the Government Railway Police station in New Tinsukia to lodge a complaint that she was raped by three persons. While two of the accused had disappeared, the police managed to apprehend the third person with the help of the woman’s brother who was waiting to receive her in New Tinsukia station.

The woman, who is unmarried and hails from a village under Philobari police station in Tinsukia district, has been working as a domestic maid in Bangalore, and was traveling home on leave. The 20-year old unmarried woman was employed by the daughter of an officer with GREF, a unit of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), who is posted in Arunachal Pradesh, it was learnt.

Giving details based on the complaint and the statement of the victim, New Tinsukia GRP office in-charge Dipak Tamuli said the girl had shifted to another coach after most of the passengers of the coach in which she was traveling had alighted in New Dibrugarh station. It was in the second coach that three persons raped her in the toilet, the complaint said.

“She said an elderly co-passenger asked her to go to another coach because he was the only male passenger in it. Accordingly, she shifted to another coach where she met three male passengers who soon became friends with her. One of the persons who escorted her to the toilet however took advantage and raped her, after which the other two men also followed suit,” the police officer, quoting the woman’s complaint said.

The person who has been arrested after being apprehended by the police with the help of the victim’s brother, has been identified as one Prahlad Chhetri who works in restaurant in Bangalore. “He was apprehended when he had gone back to the coach to collect a bag that he had left behind after alighting from the train in New Tinsukia, with the girl’s brother acting rather swiftly and handing him over to the police.

The police officer said Chhetri claimed he did not have much details about his other two accomplices because they had met only in the train as co-passengers. “We are still trying to get some information about the other two culprits,” the police officer said.

“The woman has been already put through the required medical tests, while a lady magistrate has recorded her statement,” railway police officer Tamuli said. The weekly 15901 KSR Bangalore – New Tinsukia Express leaves Bangalore City junction at 11:55 PM on Monday and takes 72 hours to reach New Tinsukia at around midnight of Thursday. The distance between New Dibrugarh and New Tinsukia is only 42 kms, but takes 65 minutes to cover that distance.