The Agra Police on Saturday arrested an Army jawan for allegedly molesting an 11-year-old girl on board the Navyug Express, The Indian Express reported. The accused, 30-year-old M Gangaiya, has refuted the allegations and is currently in the custody of the Agra Railway Police.
A zero first information report has been filed at the Agra Cantonment Police Station.
The girl’s father in his police complaint said that the incident occurred when the train made a 45-minute halt in Delhi on Friday, The Times of India reported. The father said he had gotten off the train to buy food and his wife had taken their younger daughter to the toilet.
“When my wife returned our daughter narrated the entire incident and with the help of the ticket examiner we confronted the jawan,” the complainant was quoted as saying. “He apologised for his behaviour but we decided to take legal action. After a sending distress message to Agra railway control room, personnel from the Army and Agra Government Railway Police detained him.”
Gangaiah is attached to the Madras regiment and is posted in Coimbatore. An unidentified Army official told The Times of India that an internal report will be sent to the jawan’s superiors.
The jawan said that he had apologised for the unintentional act. “I was sleeping on my berth when the woman asked me to exchange berths with her daughter, which I agreed to do,” he told The Times of India. “While shifting my bed to the berth I accidentally brushed passed the girl.”
Abdul Qadir, senior sub-inspector in-charge of Agra GRP, said his counterparts in Delhi will take over the investigation.
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