A 14-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by two drunk Army men on the Howrah-Amritsar Express on Sunday evening. Another jawan, who reportedly forced her to consume alcohol, has been arrested.
The girl, who boarded the military compartment in the train, was rescued on Monday night by a joint team of Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police Force (GRPF) at Madhupur Station in Jharkhand.
The incident took place after the girl, who hails from Dum Dum, boarded the train at Howrah station at around 1:50 pm. She said that one Manjrish Tripathi forced her to consume alcohol, while two jawans gang-raped her.
Her medical examination confirmed that she was raped, The Times of India reported.
The police have arrested Tripathi, the jawan who allegedly forced her to consume alcohol. The girl has identified the other two who allegedly raped her. The police are trying to track them down.
The girl had boarded the Howrah-Amritsar Express in an attempt to run away from home. Her parents had informed the police who then contacted the railway officials about the same. The girl was spotted in CCTV footage of the Howrah station.
The Howrah railway officials contacted the office of Ranchi DGP on Monday as the train had entered Jharkhand by the time they were able to identify the girl in the footage. A team of RPF and GRPF were sent on Monday evening to rescue the girl. The girl was not fully conscious when the railway police force entered the military coach, The Times of India reported.
"The military coach was locked from inside and after a bit of a 'struggle', the RPF and GRP men were able to gain access. The girl was found inside. She wasn't fully conscious and was being fed by Tripathi," TOI quoted Asansol division RPF officer as saying.
"Women constables helped the girl to the GRP station and Tripathi was taken into custody," he added.
The police are now trying to trace the two rape accused.
"Prima facie, it seems the allegations are correct. We have identified the two accused and interrogation of the arrested person is likely to provide further leads. It seems that the crime occurred soon after the train left Howrah," TOI quoted Dhanbad superintendent of railway police Asim Vikrant Minj as saying.
