Overview
- A 25-year-old woman said a man repeatedly touched her aboard the Malabar Express and beat her after she told him she would report him, leaving her unconscious on the Pettah platform on Tuesday.
- Commuters intervened at Pettah, detained the 39-year-old and handed him to Thampanoor Railway police, who arrested him at the scene.
- Police said they will charge the accused under sections 74, 75, 115 and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for assault, sexual harassment, causing hurt and wrongful restraint.
- The victim told reporters the man hit her, pushed her off the train and was about to kick her, and she invoked the 2011 Soumya train case to explain her fear of a worse outcome.
- Authorities noted an existing assault case against the accused in Attingal and the incident highlights ongoing passenger-safety concerns that may prompt calls for stronger policing and surveillance on Indian trains.