A young man was arrested in the case of sexually assaulting a Tamil film star on a train. Thayyil House Ansar Khan (25) from Chavara in Kollam district was detained.
The incident took place on Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram Express on the 12th of this month. The train left Thiruvananthapuram, and the sexual assault happened after they had passed Kollam. Khan was arrested and handed over to Kayamkulam Railway Protection Force (RPF).
The victim was allegedly sexually abused while she slept. When she woke up, Khan went and hid in a washroom. The accused slid from the train and escaped as it approached Kottayam railway station.
The victim tried to run after him but could not stop the accused. Khan was caught after police inspected the CCTV footage and zeroed in on the accused. The police also said that Khan had been arrested in connection with ganja cases.
On the 23rd, a male passenger attacked a lady Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) on the Chennai mail that left Thiruvananthapuram. The atrocity was for questioning what he was doing in another lady’s reserved seat.
The railway police booked Roji Chandran, a native of Auva who works in the Merchant Navy, concerning the incident on the Chennai Mail that departed from Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
The attack took place before the train arrived at Kollam. Rajani Indira, the TTE who was on duty on the train, alleged that after being ordered to leave the berth that a female passenger had reserved, a middle-aged man attempted to strike her with his hands.
Rajani further claimed that the Kollam station police officers who were on duty did not take action in response to her allegation. Afterwards, Chandran was detained by the Kayamkulam railway police when the TTE and some other passengers filed a complaint.
The New Indian Express reported that the railway police downplayed the incident.
“In an AC cabin, the accused and the TTE engaged in a verbal duel. An officer in Kollam stated, In light of recent attacks against TTEs, the incident was blown out of proportion.”
Roji was charged with violating Section 353 for obstructing a public servant from discharging her duty.
Earlier this month, a TTE was fatally shoved outside a moving train at Thrissur by a migrant labourer. V. Vinod, the TTE, was pushed from the Ernakulam-Patna train by Rajinikanth, an intoxicated ticketless migrant worker from Odisha.
Several labourers were on the train, and Vinod was checking their tickets. Since he did not have tickets, Vinod ordered Rajanikanth to get down at the next station. The accused refused to vacate his seat.
Angered by the TTE telling him to exit, Rajanikanth pushed the unsuspecting TTE, standing near an open door. Vinod was run over a passing train, and the remains were found under a rail-over bridge.
The drunk accused was brought under control by fellow passengers and handed over to the police. Rajanikanth was taken into custody by the Palakkad Railway Police and handed over to the Thrissur police.
TTEs in trains running through Kerala complain about the police’s lack of assistance while interacting with passengers.
