Samastipur, Nov. 5: A 15-year-old girl thrown off a train near Samastipur by her alleged molester late last night succumbed to her injuries at a hospital early today.

Nitu Kumari died around 6.30am while undergoing treatment at Samastipur sadar hospital. The accused, identified as Santosh Giri, had jumped off the train with the girl between Sarairanjan and Najirganj railway stations under East Central Railway’s Sonepur division.

Giri was also injured and admitted to the same hospital. Doctors attending to him said his condition was not critical.

Police have lodged an FIR with the Samastipur Government Railway Police station.

Sources said Nitu, a resident of Biroul in Darbhanga, had boarded the Katihar-Darbhanga passenger from Barauni Junction with her family. They had gone to Simaria Ghat in Begusarai on Sunday for a holy dip in the Ganga.

Co-passenger Mohammad Alauddin alleged that he had seen a man in his thirties sitting beside Nitu and molesting her around 11.30 on Sunday night. He added that Nitu, along with her family, was asleep then.

As the family was unaware of Giri’s behaviour, Alauddin shouted at him. In a hurry, the man overpowered the girl and jumped off the speeding train before Najirganj railway station, around 15km east of Samastipur Junction. Both received injuries and lay unconscious beside the railway tracks.

The relatives accompanying Nitu got off at Najirganj railway station and reached the sadar hospital, where both Nitu and Giri were taken for treatment. “Nitu, who was brought to the hospital in a critical condition, died early this morning,” a source in the hospital said. Her relatives from Darbhanga joined the family at sadar hospital, around 60km away, on Monday.

“Giri was arrested from the spot. He had received severe injuries and is being treated at sadar hospital. Prima facie, it seems that he is mentally challenged. He is a resident of Pethia Gachhi village under the jurisdiction of Town police station of Samastipur district,” said Dhananjay Singh, the station house officer, Government Railway Police station, Samastipur Junction.

He added: “The girl’s post-mortem was conducted at the sadar hospital before the body was handed over to her family. We have lodged an FIR with the Government Railway Police station at Samastipur Junction. Investigation is on and it is too early to arrive at any conclusion about the man.”

A source at the Samastipur Junction said: “The man is allegedly a habitual attaché-lifter, who mainly targets passengers of local trains. However, there is not a single case pending against him at any Government Railway Police station.”

Railway officials of either Sonepur division or Samastipur division have not visited Nitu’s family since the incident, citing jurisdiction. The source at Samastipur station said: “Since the place where the two fell from the train falls under the jurisdiction of Sonepur division, the railway officials (of Samastipur division) have not met the victim’s family. They have returned to their native village in Darbhanga.”

The divisional commercial manager of Samastipur railway division, M.A. Humayu, said: “The place where the girl and the man fell is not under our jurisdiction. It falls under the Sonepur railway division, so we have not entertained the case so far.” Sonepur railway division officials were not available for comment.