Woman raped on train: National Commission for Women chairperson to seek reports

Describing the attack and subsequent death of a 23-year-old woman rail passenger in Kerala as 'unfortuante', National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson, Girija Vyas, today said she would be seeking reports on the incident from Union railway minister, Mamata Banerjee and state government.

The chairperson would be seeking reports from the railway minister and state government, comission sources told PTI from New Delhi.

This kind of incident is not confined to passengers of ladies compartments only, but women passengers in other compartments also face similar problems and this issue should be addressed properly, said the commission.

The victim, Sowmya, was pushed out of a local train and raped. After battling for her life for five days, she succumbed to her injuries yesterday.

The Kerala women's commission chairperson, Justice D Sreedevi, said it is necessary to ensure that those petrpetrating such crimes get capital punishment. She called for ammending rules to ensure that rapists get capital punishment.

Pointing that the incident was the result of the railways' carelessness, she said the commission had earlier complained to the railways to position the ladies compartment in the middle, which was not taken heed of.

The victim's brother should be given a job by the railways, she said.

Cyber crimes are on the rise in the state and the commission was dealing with 30-35 cases involving mobile phones and cyber crimes.