Two troopers held in Bihar, Assam for assaulting women
In the midst of the nationwide rage over rape and other forms of sexual assault, two troopers were under arrest Friday - one from Assam Rifles for allegedly molesting a woman who jumped from a train in Bihar and is in critical condition and the other from the CRPF on charges of raping a physically challenged girl in Assam.
Both incidents took place Thursday. Ramesh Kumar, an Assam Rifles trooper posted in Arunachal Pradesh, was nabbed by police for allegedly molesting a 25-year-old woman who was forced to jump off a train in Buxar and is in a Patna hospital.
In the second case, the Central Reserve Police Force's Mohan Singh was arrested for allegedly raping a physically challenged girl in a village near Assam's Lakhimpur town. Both will be tried in civilian courts under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code. If found guilty, they face automatic dismissal from service.
Assam Rifles and the CRPF are under the administrative control of the union home ministry, officials said.
The Bihar victim, who escaped the rape bid, has been unable to give a police statement, Patna Railway Superintendent of Police Suresh Choudhary told IANS. "Her condition continues to be critical. A team of doctors are monitoring and treating her. She has suffered injuries in her head and legs," a police official said.
The woman was shifted from Ara Sadar hospital to the Patna Medical College and Hospital after she jumped from the moving train Thursday evening.
The injured woman, from Darjeeling in West Bengal, jumped out of the Delhi-bound Brahamputra Mail between the Ara and Buxar stations. The Government Railway Police, with the help of passengers, caught Ramesh Kumar at the Buxar station.
Giving details, an official said two men followed the woman to the toilet and tried to molest her after the train left the Ara station. "She was travelling to Delhi to join her husband, who worked at a garment shop," said a police official.
In the other incident, CRPF trooper Mohan Singh was initially detained and later arrested for the crime late Thursday. Police are looking for three of his accomplices who escaped, an official said. The incident took place in Chauldhowa village, about 40 km from Lakhimpur town.
"According to locals, about four CRPF personnel forcibly took the physically challenged woman, who was passing by the CRPF camp on NH 52 in the area to the nearby jungle," an official said.
Some locals raised an alarm. While they managed to catch Mohan Singh, the others fled. "We have sent the victim for medical examination," an official said. On Thursday, police arrested a Congress leader in Chirang district of Assam's Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts for allegedly attempting to rape a woman.
