Woman sexually assaulted on moving Mumbai local train; man held 8 hours after the crime

A 20-year-old woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a 40-year-old man in the ladies' compartment of a moving Mumbai local train when she was travelling alone on Wednesday morning. The accused was arrested after nearly 8 hours of the incident, a GRP official said.

The woman, a resident of Girgaon in Mumbai was headed towards Belapur in Navi Mumbai where she was supposed to appear for an exam.

The woman boarded the Harbour Line local train at CSMT on Wednesday morning. As soon as the train started moving, a man entered the ladies' compartment which was empty at that time, the official said.

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"He allegedly sexually assaulted the woman between CSMT and Masjid stations at around 7:26 am. He got down at Masjid station (next station after CSMT) when the woman raised an alarm and ran away," the official said.

The woman approached GRP and lodged a complaint, following which an FIR was registered against an unidentified person, the official said.

"Teams of personnel of GRP, Railway Protection Force (RPF), crime branch and Mumbai Police launched a manhunt for the accused. Police examined footages of CCTV cameras inside and outside the Masjid station. He was subsequently identified and nabbed at around 4 pm," the official said.

The accused is a labourer who works on daily wages.

A case was registered against him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including rape. Further investigation is underway, the official added.