Five members of the gang have been arrested. Robbers forced at least 15 passengers to part with cellphones and cash after threatening them. A 21-year-old man who refused to give his phone was pushed off the train, but as he was moving slowly, he suffered minor head injuries.
The accident occurred in Lucknow-Mumbai Pushpak Express between Igatpuri and Kasara stations at around 7 pm when the train was on its way towards Mumbai. Railway Police said that a case of gang rape has been registered on the complaint of a newly married woman from UP traveling with her husband.
4 out of 5 caught train robbers are from Igatpuri and Mumbai
Passengers said that as the train entered a long tunnel after Igatpuri, robbers took advantage of the darkness to threaten passengers in the general coach with belts and metal knuckles, forcing them to drop their luggage. Some of them stabbed them soon after the train left Igatpuri station, some passengers told TOI.
When they targeted the young woman, her husband and another co-passenger sitting next to them tried to stop the attackers, but were assaulted.
The railway police said four of the robbers were arrested soon after the crime, while the fifth was arrested on Saturday. They are residents of Igatpuri and Mumbai. Railway Police claimed that the robbers may have targeted the general coach as Railway Protection Force personnel rarely travel in these coaches.
Passengers said 21-year-old Ankush Kumar, one of the protesting passengers, was pushed off the train. However, the train was moving slowly at that time. Shortly before this, a passenger in the coach pulled the chain.
“They snatched my mobile phone and pushed me out,” Kumar said. “But the train was still moving slowly and so I managed to get to the other compartment with the help of a passenger, who extended his hand and pulled me in again.”
Till then the Railway Police and RPF teams were waiting at the platform of Kasara, the next station, to nab the criminals. However, some of them managed to escape from the station, while RPF officers caught one of them at the station.
After the train left Kasara, the passengers came to know that one of the robbers had been hiding in the toilet. They locked him inside and as soon as the train reached Kalyan, it was handed over to the Railway Police officials at the station.
On learning about the sexual harassment, railway police officers in Kalyan contacted their counterparts in Igatpuri, following which two others were apprehended, including those who sexually assaulted the woman.
The arrested accused have been identified as Malad resident Arshad Sheikh (19), Prakash Pardhi alias Pakya (20), Arjun Pardeshi (20) and Kishore Sonawane alias Kalu (25). The details of the fifth person arrested were not immediately known.
The five arrested men and their absconding accomplices have been charged with rape, dacoity, among other sections of the Railway Act. According to railway police officials, some of the arrested people have criminal background.
Government Railway Police (Mumbai) Commissioner Kaiser Khalid said the estimated value of the stolen property is around Rs 96,000. He said that phones form a major part of the loot. So far, goods worth Rs 34,000 have been recovered.
(The identity of the victim is not disclosed to protect the privacy of the victim as per the directions of the Supreme Court on matters related to sexual harassment)
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