Hawker arrested for knife attack on RPF woman constable in train

CHENNAI: Egmore railway police on Friday arrested a 40-year-old man for the knife attack on a woman constable with Railway Protection Force (RPF) after she asked him to get off the ladies coach in Chennai suburban train at Chennai Beach station on Tuesday night.

The constable, Asrivah (29), jumped off the moving train to escape further attack. The incident happened around 8.45 pm. The RPF constable, Asirvah, and another constable were on escort duty on the Beach-Chengelpattu electric train.

On seeing a man boarding the ladies coach, Asrivah had asked him to deboard. Taking her by surprise, he slashed her with a knife and fled the place.

Based on enquiries, police arrested Dhanasekar, a native of Tindivanam. Police investigation revealed that Dhanasekar and his wife are vendors on local trains. “He was upset with the police as the railway laws do not permit hawkers to sell goods on local trains and he was constantly told to get off trains. On Tuesday, he was in an inebriated condition and when the constable asked him to get off the ladies coach, the pent-up anger was at play,” said a senior police officer with the railway police.

He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody. Police said that lack of CCTV cameras in ladies' compartments, as mandated by the union government had stalled the investigation and cited as a reason for the delay in securing the assailant.