Alert RPF cop saves woman from rape attempt on Chennai local train

He overpowered her assaulter and got her to a hospital for first aid.

Representational image. (Commons/Srini G)

CHENNAI: A 25-year-old woman who was travelling alone in the ladies compartment of a local train in Chennai was saved from the middle of a sexual assault by an alert Railway Protection Force constable.

The incident happened around 11:45 pm on Monday on an MRTS train, according to local media reports. The RPF constable, K Shivaji, heard the screams of the woman coming from the next compartment. Reports say he was unable to intervene immediately since the train was moving.

When the train stopped at the next station, he rushed into the ladies compartment to find a drunk man assaulting the woman. He overpowered the attacker and found the woman unconscious and bleeding from the mouth. He rushed her to the hospital and she was given first aid.

The assaulter, identified as 26-year-old Sathyaraj, works as a private security guard, the reports said. The victim hails from a poor family and was returning from work, the cops said.

The woman said she had fallen asleep in the empty women's compartment of the last train and had women up to find the man next to her, trying to molest her. He pushed her to the ground, at which point she seems to have lost consciousness.

"The victim is fine, and we have recorded her statement. She wants the accused to be punished. I appreciate her for the alertness she exhibited, which helped her get help and be saved from being assaulted," Pon Manickavel, Inspector General of Railway Police, told reporters on Tuesday morning. He also announced a personal reward of Rs 5,000 to Shivaji for his "brave act".

The MRTS is an elevated local train line in Chennai that runs parallel to the coast. The sexual assault happened between the Park Town and Chintadripet stations, just two stations before she would have gotten off the train.