A 14-year-old girl in Kolkata was gang-raped on Sunday evening by two army men while on board the Amritsar Express.
The girl was rescued after joint efforts from the Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police personnel from Madhupur station in Jharkhand, according to the Times of India.
“The military coach was locked from inside and after a bit of a ‘struggle’, the RPF and GRP men were able to gain access. The girl was found inside. She wasn’t fully conscious,” a RPF officer said.
“Women constables helped the girl to the GRP station and the man was taken into custody. During questioning, the girl said she was forced to drink alcohol by three jawans and then raped by two of them,” he added.
The girl then identified the duo in a video footage of the coach but when police boarded the train to make the arrest, they were nowhere to be found.
Another army man, identified as Manjrish Tripathi, was arrested as a suspected accomplice of the accused. The young girl however, said in her statement that Tripathi did not rape her but forced her to drink alcohol after which the other two raped her.
Initial reports revealed the girl had run away from her home on Sunday evening, after which her parents alerted the police who informed the railway services.
CCTV footage showed the young girl boarding a military reserved coach on the Howrah-Amritsar Express where she was raped by two army men.
Authorities were able to locate the train immediately and ordered video footage of the specific coach which she had boarded. When the train reached Kiul, around 11.15pm, RPF men videographed the army personnel travelling in that bogie and sent back the footage to Madhupur. Meanwhile, a medical examination confirmed rape.
Further, officials confirmed the army has been asked to provide details of the personnel travelling by Amritsar Express.
