mumbai

Updated: Aug 12, 2019 23:51 IST

Commuters on Sunday night helped apprehend two men who had molested a 32-year-old woman on a Harbour line local train. The Government Railway Police (GRP) have identified the two accused as Pramod Rajbhar, 24, and Harkishan Vishwakarma, 36.

They were caught at Tilak Nagar railway station and later arrested. “We have arrested the two under sections 354A (sexual harassment) and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code and further collection of evidence is in progress,” said sub-inspector Akash Jadhav of Wadala GRP.

According to Wadala GRP, the woman and her cousin boarded a local train from platform number 7 at Kurla station, around 9pm. They were on their way to the woman’s home in Navi Mumbai. The woman and her cousin boarded the general compartment right, behind the motorman’s cabin.

The two accused were travelling together in the same compartment, near the door.

“When the woman entered the train Rajbhar pulled her to his side, by her waist, and then Vishwakarma touched her inappropriately. The woman screamed, which alerted her cousin and others. A 17-year-old boy in the train helped the victim’s cousin to nab the two,” said a GRP police official.

Rajbhar and Vishwakarma are both residents of Panvel. In an effort to escape, they jumped off the train as it entered the next railway station, at Tilak Nagar. “The train was crowded and hence the two accused tried to escape at Tilak Nagar, but commuters caught them and handed over to security officials and the matter was reported to the Wadala GRP police station as the incident took place in our jurisdiction,” said Jadhav. The two accused were later arrested and charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Cases of molestation on local train in Mumbai have seen an increase in recent times. In 2018, 143 cases of molestation were reported as compared to 92 cases in 2017.