Fine for railway cops who snubbed molested woman

Assistant sub-inspector KS Jadhav and probationary police constable S Rathod of Thane government railway police (GRP) won’t get increments next year for refusing to act on the complaint of a 25-year-old woman who was molested on a train between Nerul and Juinagar in June.

Assistant sub-inspector KS Jadhav and probationary police constable S Rathod of Thane government railway police (GRP) won’t get increments next year for refusing to act on the complaint of a 25-year-old woman who was molested on a train between Nerul and Juinagar in June.

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Additional government pleader Rajesh Behere informed the Bombay high court on Friday that Dilip Chavan, assistant commissioner of police in the GRP, has completed the departmental enquiry initiated against the two police personnel, after which the penalty was imposed on them.

ACP Chavan had initiated the enquiry after the high court took suo motu notice of two Hindustan Times reports highlighting the plight of women travellers, including the ordeal of the Nerul resident.

The woman had boarded a train from Nerul station at 5.10am on June 19. A man jumped in as the train started moving; he then came to her, tried to commit an obscene act and began touching her. He threatened to throw her out of moving train if she did not comply.

According to an earlier affidavit filed by ACP Chavan, when the victim approached the police station, Jadhav was the officer on duty, but he was sleeping. It was the probationary constable who snubbed the victim.

The division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice Roshan Dalvi has now posted the petition for further hearing after two weeks, when the railway board is likely to convey its decision about increasing the strength of railway protection force in Mumbai.