DIG-rank RPF officer booked for sexual harassment in MP

A senior Railway Protection Force officer was Monday booked for allegedly sexually harassing a railway official's wife on board a train, police said.

The officer was identified as RPF Deputy Inspector-General Vijay Khatarkar, currently posted with West Central Railway headquartered in Jabalpur as Chief Security Commissioner, said Superintendent of Police (GRP Jabalpur division) Sunil Kumar Jain.

"An FIR has been registered against RPF DIG Vijay Khatarkar for sexually harassing a woman on board a train. The complainant is the wife of a senior railway official," Jain told PTI.

"As per the complaint, the incident took place in the early hours on Monday inside coach number A1 of the overnight express train running between Indore and Jabalpur. The complainant was sleeping on a lower berth when the DIG sexually harassed her," the SP said.

The complainant has told police that she resisted the DIG's advances and alerted co-passengers after which they and the train's ticket-checker arrived, Jain said.

"We have registered a case for sexual harassment under section 354(a) of the IPC. The complainant will have to record her statement in a court under section 164 of the CrPC," he said.

Khatarkar could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.