NCW seeks report on Naigaon station molestation incident within 7 days

“No woman should have to suffer violence for speaking up against harassment. The safety of women in public transport is non-negotiable, and accountability must be ensured,” NCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar said

MUMBAI: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of the November 4 incident at Naigaon railway station, in which a 20-year-old woman was allegedly molested and pushed off a local train, resulting in the amputation of her left arm below the elbow.

NCW seeks report on Naigaon station molestation incident within 7 days

“No woman should have to suffer violence for speaking up against harassment. The safety of women in public transport is non-negotiable, and accountability must be ensured,” NCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar said on Friday, after coming across media reports about the incident.

The commission has sought a detailed Action Taken Report (ATR) within seven days from the Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP), covering particulars of the probe, legal action taken against the arrested accused, and preservation of CCTV footage and other evidence. It has also sought comprehensive medical care, psychological support, long-term rehabilitation and appropriate compensation for the victim.

Security arrangements in local trains and at railway stations need to be reviewed to strengthen the safety of women commuters, the NCW said.

“When she confronted him at Naigaon station, he pushed her out of the train, alighted from the train himself and continued arguing with her on the platform,” an officer from the Bhayander Government Railway Police (GRP) station told HT. “Then he pushed her again, this time onto the tracks, in the space between two compartments of a local train. The train started moving even as she was trying to climb up onto the platform, crushing her left arm beneath its wheels.”

The woman was taken to a hospital in Vasai and later to Cooper Hospital, where doctors had to amputate her left arm beneath the elbow due to the severity of her injuries.

Hirmukhe was arrested on Wednesday from his house in Naigaon and produced in court on Thursday, when he was remanded in police custody. He has been booked under sections 74 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 109 (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said.