Railway employee lures Odisha passenger with confirmed ticket promise, rapes her

The accused, Kapileshwar Singh, a valve operator, has been dismissed from service and will not receive pensionary benefits

Updated on: Sep 4, 2026, 10:38:46 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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A 54-year-old railway employee was arrested on Thursday for allegedly raping a 20-year-old passenger after luring her to a room at Odisha’s Rourkela railway station with the promise of arranging a confirmed ticket, police said.

The accused allegedly took the passenger to an operator room, locked it from inside, and raped her. (Representative Photo)

Senior divisional commercial manager (railways) Aditya Chaudhary said the accused, Kapileshwar Singh, a valve operator, has been dismissed from service and will not receive pensionary benefits. “We are extending all possible cooperation to the police in the investigation.”

Police said the woman was at the Rourkela station with her two cousins en route to Bengaluru. The three initially planned to travel on the Hatia-Yasvantpur Express from Titlagarh but mistakenly got on another train before taking one to Rourkela. They arrived at Rourkela around 9am on Thursday and planned to get tickets for their onward journey to Bengaluru. The three could not manage a confirmed ticket, police said.

Offer of arranging ticket, then rape

While her cousins went to make inquiries about getting a confirmed ticket, Singh allegedly approached the woman on the platform and offered to arrange one for her. He allegedly took her to an operator room near the Officers’ Rest House, locked it from inside, and raped her.

Singh allegedly threatened the woman against reporting the assault and offered her ₹2,000, according to the First Information Report filed in the case.

Police said the woman escaped when Singh allegedly attempted to assault her again and told her cousins about the incident. The three then approached the Government Railway Police (GRP) and lodged a complaint.

“The accused has been arrested and sent to jail. The investigation is continuing,” said sub-inspector Kailash Munda, who arrested Singh. Police said medical examinations of the accused and the woman were conducted.

The woman has been kept at a centre for violence-affected women in Rourkela, and her statement will be recorded before a magistrate on Friday, officials said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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