NEW DELHI, June 23: In yet another incident of attack on women in running train, three men allegedly harassed a man and a woman in a general coach in a moving train outside Gwalior in Uttar Pradesh.
The police said the three assailants pinned the man down, undressed the woman with the intent of gang rape, but when they failed, the accused pushed them off the moving train.
All this happened, reportedly, in the presence of 60-odd people on the train, and except for two elderly co-passengers none came forward to help the harassed woman or raised an alarm, police officers said. The aggrieved duo sustained severe injuries.
According to reports, the man used his torn clothes to cover the woman and carried her through a dense jungle for nearly five kilometres amid heavy rainfall. While they desperately wanted to get to a medical facility, their pleas for help fell on deaf ears in the first two villages they crossed.
When they reached the third village on their way an elderly couple helped them. They offered the woman a saree and provided them with first aid before taking them to a local hospital.
The incident is of June 19, and the police are actively investigating the matter. They are reviewing CCTV footage in hopes of identifying the suspects and any potential witnesses who may have crucial information.
According to the survivor’s statement to the police, apart from two elderly co-passengers, no one intervened or responded to their pleas for help as the three accused molested the woman.
The woman, 32, and her 22-year-old male companion, work for a private firm, and were traveling from Lucknow to Gujarat. They boarded the general coach of the Surat Express in Gwalior at approximately 10 pm after missing a connecting train.
Police have registered an FIR in the matter and a detailed investigation is underway, while the two are still in the hospital, recuperating from injuries and trauma.
(Manas Dasgupta)