Railway staffer jailed for sexual assault

Railway staffer jailed for sexual assault

NEW DELHI: A railway coach attendant has been sentenced to a five-year prison term for sexually assaulting a minor on board a train. Additional sessions judge Pawan Kumar Jain convicted 20-year-old Vinod Kumar, who was working as a bed roll boy in Brahmaputra Mail. It also fined him Rs 2,000.

"The convict was working as a bed roll boy in the AC IInd class coach in Brahmaputra Mail...being the coach attendant, it was his duty not only to serve the passengers but also to protect them from any danger," the court said while convicting the youth.

Soon after the incident, a complaint was lodged against Kumar for aggravated sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at the Old Delhi Railway Station police station by the girl's mother.

According to the prosecution, the girl was travelling in Brahmaputra Mail on January 26 last year. The woman said her daughter tried to resist and attempted to call her but she was sleeping and didn't hear. The girl then rushed towards the washroom and was followed by Vinod, who entered the toilet behind her.

"He sexually assaulted the victim, who is below 12 years of age, just to satisfy his lust after finding her alone in the early morning hours when co-passengers, including her mother, were in deep sleep," the court said

observed in its order. The attendant denied the allegations and said he had not molested the young girl. but the court went by the testimony of the woman and her daughter who stuck to their allegations, which the court found to be genuine.

Source : TOI.