Social media nabs train molester - Groped on Rajdhani, girl's FB post is tweeted to Prabhu for fast results

TT, Jamshedpur, March 24: A middle-aged government employee was arrested at Tatanagar station last afternoon for molesting a 19-year-old college girl on Rajdhani Express after she posted her horror story on Facebook, which a friend tweeted to Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu.

Though the Bhubaneswar girl, who was on her way to Ramjas College in Delhi, where she studies, was too traumatised to report the matter to the train superintendent or anyone else, the minister's intervention led to the speedy arrest of Bani Prasad Mohanty, 49, from Tatanagar around 4pm yesterday.

Around 11.10am, when the train was crossing Jajpur-Keonjhar Road station, Mohanty, a senior lab assistant with the Odisha government, who was in B-7, 3AC coach, allegedly tried to feel up the girl sleeping in her berth nearby.

The startled girl awoke, sending Mohanty scurrying to the toilet.

The girl wrote about the ugly incident on her Facebook account from the train itself, which her friend tweeted to Union minister Prabhu.

The minister promptly asked authorities to react.

By 2pm, when the train had crossed Kharagpur railway station, senior security commissioner of Kharagpur division Maheshwar Singh called up RPF officer-in-charge (OC) in Tatanagar N.K. Singh to take action against Mohanty, who had no idea that he was a wanted man. The train escort party was also alerted.

RFP OC Singh, on his part, called up GRP OC Pradeep Chaudhury for help. When the train reached Tatanagar, Mohanty was arrested by the GRP on the basis of a complaint the victim had written on a white sheet she took from the train superintendent. The train left for its onward journey.

Mohanty was taken to Bhadrak by a team of GRP and RPF officials on Puri-bound Purushottam Express last night and handed over to GRP in Bhadrak.

Today, Mohanty was sent to Bhadrak sub-jail.

TT, Bhubaneswar, March 24: A middle-aged government employee was arrested at Tatanagar station yesterday for molesting a 19-year-old college girl on Rajdhani Express after she posted her horror story on Facebook, the link to which a friend tweeted to Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu.

Though the Bhubaneswar girl, who was on her way to Ramjas College in Delhi, where she studies, was too traumatised to report the matter to the train superintendent or anyone else, the minister's intervention led to the speedy arrest of Bani Prasad Mohanty, 49, from Tatanagar around 4pm yesterday.

The victim and the accused had boarded the train from Bhubaneswar railway station at 9.15am yesterday. Around 11.10am, when the train was crossing Jajpur-Keonjhar Road station, Mohanty, a senior lab assistant with the Odisha government, who was in B-7, 3AC coach, allegedly tried to feel up the girl sleeping in her berth nearby.

The girl wrote about the ugly incident on her Facebook account from the train itself, which her friend tweeted to Union minister Prabhu.

"I decided to go and sleep in the upper berth as I was extremely tired and down with sore throat and sneezing. I fell asleep within some 10-20 mins wrapped in my bed sheet. I was enjoying the journey when suddenly I find someone's hand on my chest. The man started walking towards the washroom in a bid to run away after grabbing me from my chest," read the Facebook post of the victim.

As soon as the victim shared the post at 1.40pm, her friends started sharing it and finally the matter reached the railway minister. The office of the railway ministry subsequently informed the matter to the East Coast Railway, which alerted the railway officials on the train and the railway protection force (RPF).

"Soon after we received the information, we shared it with railway officials, including Khurda Road control room, RPF Kharagpur and TTEs on the train," said the railway's chief public relations officer J.P. Mishra.

By 2pm, when the train had crossed Kharagpur railway station, senior security commissioner of Kharagpur division Maheshwar Singh called up RPF officer-in-charge in Tatanagar N.K. Singh to take action against Mohanty. Singh, on his part, called up GRP officer-in-charge Pradeep Chaudhury for help. When the train reached Tatanagar, Mohanty was arrested by the GRP on the basis of a complaint the victim had written on a white sheet. Today, Mohanty was sent to Bhadrak sub-jail.