MUMBAI: A 23-year-old woman headed to college was molested and assaulted inside a running local train between CSMT and Masjid stations on Wednesday morning.
The accused alighted from the train just before Masjid station and fled. In a separate incident a few hours earlier, a young woman was groped inside an elevator at Andheri station. The accused was apprehended soon after by a home guard.
The CSMT incident was reported around 7.15am, police said. The college-going woman had boarded the second-class ladies’ coach of a Panvel-bound local from CSMT. She was the only traveller in the compartment and was headed to Wadala. Just as the train started to move, a man got in. He had draped a shawl around his shoulders and appeared to be in his mid-thirties.
Police said the woman was taken aback when he flashed her. She asked him to get out of the train at which an argument broke out between the two. The accused hurled expletives at her and started to push her.
“The man punched her in the face, resulting in a black eye. But the woman put up a tough fight. She hit him with her footwear and raised an alarm,” said an officer. Meanwhile, there was a commuter in the adjacent handicapped compartment who had witnessed the goings-on and yelled at the accused. Panicking, he jumped off the train before it entered Masjid station. The woman travelled further up to Cotton Green station. Here, her friends were waiting and she told them about her ordeal. They found some police personnel who brought her to CSMT GRP chowky where a complaint was registered. Police said the accused has been captured on camera and multiple teams have been formed to hunt him down.
The Andheri incident was reported around 5.55am. The 26-year-old woman was returning to her Mumbai residence from her native place in Konkan. She had travelled by a long-distance train till Dadar and then switched to a Western Railway local.
She got off at Andheri’s platform 3 and decided to take an elevator to reach the foot over-bridge as she was carrying luggage with her.
After she entered the elevator, the doors closed. But someone pressed the button from outside and the doors opened. A man got in. After the doors closed, he groped the woman who shouted for help. The accused tried to flee as soon as the lift doors opened but the woman alerted a home guard who chased and caught him. The accused was identified as Ishbu Patel (21). Police said he is a Malad resident. Patel has been booked on charges of molestation.
(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
The accused alighted from the train just before Masjid station and fled. In a separate incident a few hours earlier, a young woman was groped inside an elevator at Andheri station. The accused was apprehended soon after by a home guard.
The CSMT incident was reported around 7.15am, police said. The college-going woman had boarded the second-class ladies’ coach of a Panvel-bound local from CSMT. She was the only traveller in the compartment and was headed to Wadala. Just as the train started to move, a man got in. He had draped a shawl around his shoulders and appeared to be in his mid-thirties.
Police said the woman was taken aback when he flashed her. She asked him to get out of the train at which an argument broke out between the two. The accused hurled expletives at her and started to push her.
“The man punched her in the face, resulting in a black eye. But the woman put up a tough fight. She hit him with her footwear and raised an alarm,” said an officer. Meanwhile, there was a commuter in the adjacent handicapped compartment who had witnessed the goings-on and yelled at the accused. Panicking, he jumped off the train before it entered Masjid station. The woman travelled further up to Cotton Green station. Here, her friends were waiting and she told them about her ordeal. They found some police personnel who brought her to CSMT GRP chowky where a complaint was registered. Police said the accused has been captured on camera and multiple teams have been formed to hunt him down.
The Andheri incident was reported around 5.55am. The 26-year-old woman was returning to her Mumbai residence from her native place in Konkan. She had travelled by a long-distance train till Dadar and then switched to a Western Railway local.
She got off at Andheri’s platform 3 and decided to take an elevator to reach the foot over-bridge as she was carrying luggage with her.
After she entered the elevator, the doors closed. But someone pressed the button from outside and the doors opened. A man got in. After the doors closed, he groped the woman who shouted for help. The accused tried to flee as soon as the lift doors opened but the woman alerted a home guard who chased and caught him. The accused was identified as Ishbu Patel (21). Police said he is a Malad resident. Patel has been booked on charges of molestation.
(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)