The Jehanabad police on Thursday swung into action and arrested one of the three youths involved sexually harassing and assaulting a 15-year-old female athlete.

The youth, identified as Nitish Kumar (22), was produced before a railway judicial court, which remanded him in judicial custody for two weeks.

Though Jehanabad superintendent of police (SP) Sayali Dhurath denied the report of eve-teasing, the victim claimed the youth attacked her with ulterior motives. “The youth caught me from behind by my collar and brutally assaulted me causing injuries on my back and the lower abdomen,” she said over phone on Thursday.

Narrating the incident, she said the youth in his 20s caught her when she was proceeding towards her home after alighting from the Gaya-Patna Passenger MEMU (mainline electrical multiple unit) train at Jehanabad railway station around 7.30pm on Wednesday. Before she could understand what happened, he started beating her in full public view, she said.

As she was alone she didn’t react for quite some time and shouted for help. “When nobody came forward to rescue me, I decided to retaliate,” she said, adding that the youth disappeared from the scene. He was accompanied by two other associates, who apprehending trouble, fled the spot.

The incident occurred when she was returning home after taking part in an athlete-training programme at Gurua in neighbouring Gaya district. “My other colleagues had alighted from the train at the previous stations,” she added.

She was later admitted to the Jehanabad Sadar hospital. Jehanabad superintendent of police (SP) Sayali said she met the victim at the hospital and got her statement recorded. Subsequently, an FIR was lodged with the Jehanabad Government Railway Police station against the accused.

She said prime accused Nitish was arrested and produced before railway judicial magistrate Pankaj Mishra, who forwarded him to judicial custody till December 12. The SP, however, said the woman athlete was not sexually harassed.

The arrested youth reportedly told the police that he caught the victim by collar after his gamchha (towel) got stuck in the latter’s bag. As a result his motorbike skidded. “ I mistook her to be a boy. She has short hair like males,” the arrested youth told the interrogators.

The SP said raids were on to apprehend the two other accused who were absconding. She, however, refused to disclose the identities of the two fugitives. The victim earlier complained that she was not getting proper medical facilities at the sadar hospital. “The doctors of the hospital are lax and visit me only when I complain about severe pain,” she said, adding that she refused to go to Patna Medical College and Hospital as she was alone.

She alleged that the ward of the hospital was stinking and there were mosquitoes all around. “I couldn’t sleep last night and had to wait on the bed the whole night,” he said.

She said she stayed in Jehanabad with her mother. “My elder sister is married and there is none to look after me except my mother,” she lamented.

Jehanabad district magistrate Mohammad Sohail said the athlete would be provided adequate treatment at the sadar hospital.

“I have instructed the in-charge of the hospital to personally monitor her treatment and take care of all the facilities,” he told The Telegraph.

The victim whose father abandoned the family long ago said she had been taking part in athletics championships since 2006. “I have won prizes on several occasions,” she claimed.