Mumbai 14-Year-Old Jumps Off Train To Escape Molester

Mumbai: A 14-year-old girl suffered a fracture in her foot and a head injury after she jumped off a running train in a desperate bid to escape a molester in the ladies compartment. The 14-year-old was alone, and she panicked when the emergency stop chain didn't work.

The Std VIII student had boarded the Kalyan-bound train at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) at 9.30 am on Sunday.

Stop chain didn't work
Speaking to mid-day, the survivor recalled, "When I boarded the train, the ladies compartment was empty. Just when the train started moving, a man in a pink T-shirt boarded the compartment. I told him to get down, as it was the ladies compartment. I also tried to pull the emergency stop chain. I put all my strength into it, but the chain wouldn't budge. He started moving towards me and was telling me to shut up."

"I was in a state of fear, not sure what should I do and how to call for help. I was left with no option but to jump off the train. By that time, the train has already crossed the platform at CSMT. When I saw a few railways workers on the tracks, I decided to jump there," she added.

The gangmen on the tracks called the Government Railway Police (GRP), who took her to the nearby St George Hospital.

The fall had fractured her heel and injured her on the head and hand. Her broken foot was placed in a plaster cast, and she received 20 stitches on her head.

The survivor's parents - her father is a government employee - said, "By god's grace, my daughter is safe. What happened was dangerous. The authorities should take some concrete steps to prevent such incidents in the future."

Cop speak
Vilas Chaugule, GRP inspector (CSMT), said, "We registered an FIR against an unidentified person under Sections 354 (molestation), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Sections 4 and 8 of POCSO Act. Based on the girl's description, we found images of the accused on CCTV footage. We distributed the CCTV grabs to all our staff, and will arrest him soon."

On watching the CCTV footage, the cops found that the accused was roaming around at the station for 15 minutes, only boarding the train when it was leaving the platform.

Another incident
Not even 24 hours earlier, yet another woman passenger was subjected to sexual harassment on the train. Around 11.30 am on Saturday, a 23-year-old girl travelling from Nalasopara to CSMT saw a man masturbating on the train while watching her. She was in the ladies compartment with her family, while the man was in the adjoining section that was separated by railings.

She recorded a video and submitted it to the CSMT GRP, which registered a complaint under Section 354A of the IPC. The cops detained a suspect from P D'Mello Road, but the complainant is yet to verify him as the culprit.

20
Number of stitches she got on her head


(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)