Thane: 45-year-old man held for molesting minor while alighting from train in Dombivli

Representative image/iStock

A Thane man has been arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) for allegedly molesting a teen girl alighting from a suburban local train, officials told news agency PTI on Friday. According to the report, the 45-year-old man was arrested from Dombivli station on Thursday.

Senior Inspector (GRP) Archana Desane told PTI that the incident took place at Dombivli station around 5.30 pm on Thursday. She added that the 16-year-old minor and the accused were in the same compartment of the suburban local train and while alighting from the train, the man grabbed the minor's hand.

IN PHOTOS: Farewell to Mumbai`s iconic BEST double-decker buses

1 year agoPHOTO GALLERY

The inspector said that the junior college student then raised an alarm alerting the commuters present at the scene who then pinned the accused down and handed him over to the GRP.

The accused was arrested and charged under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act), the police officer was quoted as saying in PTI report.

In another such incident, earlier this year, a 24-year-old woman was allegedly sexually harassed by an unidentified man on a local train in Mumbai. The incident happened between Charni Road and Grant Road suburban stations of Western Railway on June 23 night. The woman had filed a complaint with the Railway Police five days after the incident.

The accused made lewd gestures toward the woman and used obscene language as the Churchgate-bound local, she had boarded, approached Grant Road station and the accused later alighted from the train.

The same month, a 20-year-old woman was sexually assaulted by a man in the ladies compartment of a moving local train while she was travelling alone. The incident happened in broad daylight when the woman from Mumbai was headed towards Belapur, Navi Mumbai. A 40-year-old man was later arrested for the offence.

The incident happened when she was travelling to her college at 7.30 am in the morning. Finding her alone, the accused attempted to sexually assault her but she retaliated making him flee. She then switched the compartment and narrated her ordeal. The other passengers helped her contact the police through the helpline number. The accused was arrested four hours after the offence and the police also got her examination date postponed.

With PTI inputs