Mumbai: Woman near train door attacked

“My mobile phone was in my skirt pocket and I was listening to music. Suddenly, something hit me hard on my stomach, so much hard that it started bleeding. Other women commuters helped me deboard at Bandra station. They confirmed it was a rod-like object that hit me. They gave me water, men gave me handkerchiefs to wipe the blood,” she added.

Ramani said the scars were still visible. “There was no policeman from the Government Railway Police (GRP) in the train. On the platform, there was one policeman. Several people called the helpline, there was no answer. The policeman said he will go get help and that I should register a complaint,” she said.

But when the policeman failed to return after a while, the group around her dispersed. “Some of them accompanied me to a rickshaw stand and waited with me till I was seated in one,” she said.

Ramani said she called a railway helpline number to register a complaint. However, the official on the other end said she needed to be admitted to a hospital to be able to register a complaint. “I regularly use the local train. I am guessing miscreants near Bandra station are behind this. This does pose a threat to the safety of woman commuters in trains,” she said.

GRP officials said they would look into the case. At least two incidents of attacks on women travelling in local trains are reported each week, officials said.

Samadhan Pawar, Deputy Commissioner of Government Railway police, Central Railway said: “We have registered the offence. We will provide required aid to the victim. We checked the recording of the helpline. It was found that due directions of providing assistance to the victim was offered on the call.”