Three youths allegedly forced husband to watch outrage at gunpoint

A woman in West Bengal’s Howrah district was gang-raped on Thursday night, and her husband forced to watch at gunpoint, police said. The alleged incident took place near the Mourigram station.

“One of the accused, Tara Bagh, has been arrested. I cannot reveal the names of the other two as it will affect the investigation,” Superintendent of Government Railway Police (GRP), Kharagpur, Joy Biswas, told The Hindu on Friday.

Around 11.30 p.m. on Thursday, the couple arrived at the Mourigram station to catch a train to Howrah, about six kilometres away. As the last train had left, the couple decided to spend the night at the station.

The three youths approached them and asked them whether they had tickets. When the man said they did not but would buy them on Friday, the accused asked him to meet the ‘railway officer.’ “The man refused to accompany them, and the three youths held him at gunpoint and dragged him and his wife to a mango orchard nearby,” said Mr. Biswas. After the incident, the man brought his wife back to the station and lodged an FIR with the GRP. The woman has been admitted to a local hospital.

The incident comes at a time when the Railway Budget has laid stress on passenger safety and proposed several measures to step up security in railway platforms and trains.