Woman dragged out of train and raped by gang of robbers

Special team constituted to inquire into incident

Even as the police detained one person in connection with the alleged rape and assault of a woman in the Baranagar area in the outskirts of the city, investigations into another incident of a woman being dragged out of a train and raped by a gang of armed robbers were initiated on Sunday.

The armed gang held up a passenger train near Katwa in West Bengal's Bardhaman district on Saturday evening to loot the passengers. The victim alleged that when she tried to resist, they dragged her out of the train and raped her by the railway tracks.

The State's Director-General (Railway) of Police Dilip Mitra visited the spot during the day.

“I spoke to the woman and she told me that an FIR was registered when she reported the incident. She has already been taken for medical examination. We are proceeding with the investigation and awaiting the medical report after which the facts will become clearer,” Mr. Mitra told journalists.

He asserted that none of the police personnel who received her complaint or accompanied her for her medical examination misbehaved with her.

“I asked her three times, has any police person misbehaved with you and are you satisfied with the manner in which you were treated by the police. She said that she was satisfied.”

The railway police are handing over charge of the case to the district police.

A railway police official said the district police were better equipped to handle such a sensitive case.

This is the fourth such incident being reported in the State this month after a 37-year-old woman, who said that she was raped in the heart of the city in the small hours of February 6, took her grievance to the media. She alleged that the police had not conducted the investigation properly and also misbehaved with her.

As for the incident in the Baranagar area, the unconscious woman, stated to be a rag-picker, was found near the Bally Bridge on Friday and rushed to hospital.

She later died in the hospital, Earlier, when she briefly regained consciousness, she alleged that she was raped.