South Delhi: Engineer thrashed after female colleague alleges molestation
A 40-year-old section engineer in Indian railways posted at Tughlaqabad railway yard has been accused of allegedly molesting another rail staff on Monday, police said.
A 40-year-old section engineer in the railways posted in Tughlaqabad in south Delhi has been accused of allegedly molesting another rail staff on Monday, police said. A case of molestation was registered at Pul Prahladpur police station on the complaint of the 20-year-old woman.
A senior police officer said that the railway engineer was thrashed by his colleagues and locals after the woman raised an alarm.
A separate case of assault and criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty was registered on the complaint of the section engineer. The railway official told police in his complaint that he was being framed in a false sexual harassment case as per a conspiracy hatched allegedly by some railway employees and members of the staff union.
Romil Baaniya, deputy commissioner of police (southeast), confirmed that two separate FIRs were registered in the matter. He said that the section engineer was not arrested till Tuesday morning as the investigation was still on the preliminary stage. The rail official’s name has been withheld because the charges against him were yet to be proved.
The woman has complained that on Monday around 1 pm, she was busy with some work when the engineer asked her for a glass of water, the officer said. The woman went to his cabin with a glass of water. “As she kept the glass on his table, the railway official allegedly grabbed her hand and tried to drag her toward the bathroom,” said the police officer, quoting her complaint.
The woman further told the police that she raised an alarm and somehow managed to free herself from his clutches. She ran out and alerted her colleagues and other rail employees present at the rail yard. A few locals also arrived and they together beat up the official before informing the police.
A police team arrived and the official was taken to a nearby hospital for medical attention. A complaint from the woman was received and FIR was registered against the official. “The second FIR was registered on his complaint against the other rail employees, the officer added.
Sexual harassment at workplace continues to be a problem in the national capital. As per the National Crime Records Bureau data, 57 and 119 cases of sexual harassment at the workplace were reported in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
“This increase in number shows that more and more women are coming forward to seek police assistance in such cases and are not suffering in silence,” said Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi said last week in a reply to the Lok Sabha.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, and Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013, was enacted with the objective to provide safe and secure workplace environment to women.