Mumbai:
A drunk man allegedly tried to rape a woman inside the ladies compartment on a local train this morning in Mumbai. The woman, who was on her way to Matunga, boarded the train at Mahalaxmi station. 27-year-old Devraj Parab has been arrested for the crime.
The victim's brother told reporters, "She caught a train at 5:45 am. A man suddenly entered the ladies compartment, came to her and he tried to rape her. There was no guard at that time inside the compartment when the incident took place. My sister raised an alarm and the offender was caught by co-passengers and policemen at Lower Parel station."
Shockingly, there was no policeman in the compartment which is the norm for all trains that run at night and early in the morning. A case has been registered at the Mumbai Central Police Station.
Senior Police Inspector of Mumbai Central Police Station, Rajendra Trivedi told reporters, "We will take strong action and there is no doubt about that. This kind of act is not tolerable."
The police have said that strong action will be taken even against those found guilty of dereliction of duty. A policeman was deputed to be on the train but was not present when the incident took place.
On Friday, the Mumbai Police arrested 35-year-old Nishant Agarwal from Kandivali for allegedly molesting school girls in the Malad and Kandivali suburbs. The arrest came after one of the schools complained about him.
According to official data, crimes against women have doubled in Mumbai this year. 1,089 cases were registered between January and April this year alone. Only 500 cases were registered in the same period last year.
The two arrests have left young women across the city terrified.
18-year old Nikita Natarajan, a regular train commuter told NDTV, "When these kinds of incidents happen, you do not know what to do. It leaves you scarred. At Railway platforms, men sexually harass women and this is both verbal and physical."