Bhubaneswar, Nov. 17: The Government Railway Police (GRP) today arrested two youths for harassing a group of college girls in a train.
The arrested youths -Ajay Kumar Das, 25, and Susant Kumar Subudhy, 25 - are residents of Jatni on the city outskirts.
The railway police sources said the accused, along with their associates, used to harass the girls studying in a city-based college.
"The students hailing from Delang travel in the Puri-Cuttack train to attend their classes in the city. The gang was harassing the girls by passing lewd comments and pulling their college bags on running train," said inspector in-charge of GRP, Bubaneswar, Soubhagya Kumar Swain.
The college girls later lodged a complaint with the GRP a few days ago.
"We searched the compartment of the train today after it reached Bhubaneswar railway station. Though we managed to nab the two accused, the other associates managed to escape. They have been identified and will be nabbed soon," said Swain.
Safety seminar
Police today conducted a seminar on safety of women where several college students and members of civil society took part.
The police said crime against women had been a major concern in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
"We register around 800 to 1,000 cases related to violence against women in the two cities every year. By the end of October this year, the cops have registered as many as 782 cases," said police commissioner, R.P. Sharma.
Statistics revealed a sharp increase in rape and dowry cases. While as many as 72 rape cases were registered in Bhubaneswar in 2014 compared to 51 in 2013, the number of dowry torture cases also went up to 104 in 2014 as against 58 in 2013.
The police had also registered 159 cases related to molestation and eve-teasing in Bhubaneswar last year.
The police said the mobile-based app "Mo Saathi", which is exclusively meant for women, had become very popular. "We are receiving 20 requests every day for registration of the app. So far, 1,700 women have downloaded it," said the police commissioner. The objective of the app is to provide immediate police assistance to women in distress, especially those travelling alone at night.
