Puri: The Jagannath yatra has begun but the festivities have been marred by the shocking news of molestation of a nine year old, allegedly by a policeman, on a train near Bhubaneswar.
The policeman has been arrested along with the victim's father who allegedly attacked the suspect. The victim is from Bengal and was travelling with her family to Puri for the Rath Yatra.
The incident took place in the AC compartment of the Howrah-Puri-Jagannath express at 3am. Passengers caught hold of the policeman and beat him up after the girl raised an alarm.
Police arrested the policeman following a complaint lodged by the girl's parents and they also arrested the victim's father for manhandling the suspect.
At the government railway police (GRP) outpost at Puri SP (railway) Bhagyadhar Behera said, "He was booked for outraging the modesty of the girl. We produced him in a Khurda court, which remanded him to judicial custody."
Meanwhile, the victim's family received a jolt as railway police arrested the girl's father for allegedly manhandling the police. "He manhandled the inspector, who was assigned to report to duty in Puri during the Rath Yatra," DSP (railway) DSP, Pandab Mohanty said.
The Railway Police Force (RPF) said they were taking all possible steps to prevent such crimes in trains and stations. "It is an unfortunate and unprecedented incident. We are taking steps to protect passengers," a senior RPF officer said.
Inspector general-cum-chief security commissioner (RPF, east coast railway) Srikant Mishra said, "I am inquiring into the allegation. All trains, mostly the night trains have been provided with escorts to protect the passengers. We have deployed more than 400 RPF personnel in Puri for the convenience of passengers," Mishra said. "CCTV cameras and sniffer dogs have been pressed into service," he added.
Comments
0 comment