Three railway employees were arrested on Saturday after a Group D employee made public the allegation that she was repeatedly raped by them.
While the Eastern Railway ordered an inquiry into the incident, the West Bengal Commission for Women took suo motu cognisance of the matter.
The woman who works at the Chitpur Railway Yard in the northern parts of Kolkata, alleged that the accused not only raped her repeatedly, but also threatened her that they would post her “indecent” pictures on the internet if she went to the police.
The woman had got the job on humanitarian grounds after her husband died in the Jnaneshwari Express derailment in May 2010. Speaking to a local television channel in the day, the woman alleged that the police instead of acting on her complaint cast aspersions on her character.
The woman has remarried, but the accused continued to pressure her to leave her husband.
State Women and Child Welfare Minister Shashi Panja urged the woman to come forward with her compliant.
The Minister said that her department has sought a report from the police about the victim’s claims that the police repeatedly refused to take her complaint.
State’s Women Commission chairperson Sunanada Mukherjee blamed the Railways for the woman’s ordeal. “The State’s women Commission has taken cognisance of the matter and is seeking a report from top officials concerned,” Ms. Mukherjee said.
