RPF DIG booked for molesting woman onboard Indore-Jabalpur express

BHOPAL/JABALPUR: A deputy inspector general with Railway Protection Force (RPF) has been booked for allegedly molesting a co-passenger inside an AC coach of the Indore-Jabalpur overnight express in the early hours of Monday.


The complaint was lodged with GRP Jabalpur on Monday morning and a case was registered against DIG Vijay Khatarkar under IPC 354A, which carries a maximum jail term of three years in case of a conviction.

Khatarkar has denied the allegation.

Khatarkar and the complainant had berths in the same cubicle. The woman, who was travelling with her child, has alleged that she woke up on feeling that she was being touched inappropriately and saw the officer standing near her. She claims that when she raised an alarm, other passengers gathered and asked her to “remain calm”. The train was between Sridham and Narsingpur stations then. She called her husband and relatives after reaching Jabalpur station. They arrived and took her to a GRP station to file a complaint.

The DIG refuted the charges.

“My water bottle slipped from my hands after I returned from the washroom in the morning. While picking it up, my hands touched hers. It was inadvertent and accidental. I don’t even know her. I am telling the truth,” he told TOI.

GRP-Jabalpur registered a case and forwarded the case diary to Gadarwara (the halt before Narsinghpur). GRP SP Sunil Jain told TOI that the officer has been booked under Section 354 (A). Police said the DIG will be summoned to give his statement.