Railway employee lures Odisha passenger with confirmed ticket promise, rapes her

A 54-year-old railway employee was arrested on Thursday for allegedly raping a 20-year-old passenger after luring her to a room at Odisha’s Rourkela railway station with the promise of arranging a confirmed ticket, police said.The accused allegedly took the passenger to an operator room, locked it from inside, and raped her. (Representative Photo)Senior divisional commercial manager (railways) Aditya Chaudhary said the accused, Kapileshwar Singh, a valve operator, has been dismissed from service and will not receive pensionary benefits. “We are extending all possible cooperation to the police in the investigation.”Police said the woman was at the Rourkela station with her two cousins en route to Bengaluru. The three initially planned to travel on the Hatia-Yasvantpur Express from Titlagarh but mistakenly got on another train before taking one to Rourkela. They arrived at Rourkela around 9am on Thursday and planned to get tickets for their onward journey to Bengaluru. The three could not manage a confirmed ticket, police said.Offer of arranging ticket, then rapeWhile her cousins went to make inquiries about getting a confirmed ticket, Singh allegedly approached the woman on the platform and offered to arrange one for her. He allegedly took her to an operator room near the Officers’ Rest House, locked it from inside, and raped her.Singh allegedly threatened the woman against reporting the assault and offered her ₹2,000, according to the First Information Report filed in the case.Police said the woman escaped when Singh allegedly attempted to assault her again and told her cousins about the incident. The three then approached the Government Railway Police (GRP) and lodged a complaint.“The accused has been arrested and sent to jail. The investigation is continuing,” said sub-inspector Kailash Munda, who arrested Singh. Police said medical examinations of the accused and the woman were conducted.The woman has been kept at a centre for violence-affected women in Rourkela, and her statement will be recorded before a magistrate on Friday, officials said.