Unnerved by male intruder, teen jumps from ladies coach

In yet another instance that highlights the innate insecurities of women commuters, a 13year-old girl jumped from a moving train on Sunday morning after an unknown man entered the ladies’ compartment.

The teenager was all alone when she saw the man board the train while it was crawling out of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. The survivor was on her way to tuition classes at Curry road.

The victim fell on the railway tracks between Masjid Bunder and CSMT station; fortunately, she suffered just minor bruises on her legs. A lines man rang up her contact and also arranged for her to be taken to St George’s Hospital for treatment.

“We rushed her to the hospital as her family members were not at home. Fortunately, she scraped through with a few scratches on her left leg,” said Sanjay Patil, the victim’s neighbour. He reported that initially the survivor was scared but had recovered within an hour or so of the incident.

Later, Anil Surve, the brother of the victim, confirmed that she did not have any internal injuries; her sonography and Citi scan reports were normal. “We performed the tests to rule out any internal injuries. She will be discharged within seven days,” said a doctor who is treating the victim.

The railway police officials said that the survivor had confronted the man who had boarded the reserved coach and asked him to vacate it. When he approached her, apprehending the worst, she panicked and jumped out of the train.

“The stranger man repeatedly asked her to shut her mouth and attempted to get close to her. It was then that she panicked and jumped from the moving train,” said the official.

The police vigilance is stepped up at night time at stations. During the day there is no deployment of police and often male commuters take advantage of this to sneak into a ladies’ compartment.

“This person boarded the compartment after he realised that the girl was alone in the compartment,” said a railway police official.

The railway police officials are scanning the Close Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV) installed at CSMT to trace the person. “We are yet trying to ascertain whether he intended to molest the girl. We can only confirm the facts after we arrest the accused,” said a railway police official

The railway police have registered a case under section 354 for assault with intent to outrage her modesty.