Man Sexually Harassed by Male Co-Passenger on Pune-Hatia Express

A shocking case of sexual harassment has emerged from the Pune-Hatia Express this week. A man was allegedly sexually assaulted by another man while he was asleep on the train. The victim alleged that the accused groped him, kissed him, and when confronted, shamelessly said he “liked it.”

The incident came to light after the victim, Nirmal Mishra, shared two videos on social media. In a post on Instagram, Mr Mishra claimed a “33-year-old man from Chhattisgarh harassed him while he was sleeping”. He further wrote “Grabbed my @ss, touched me inappropriately, and kissed me while I was sleeping”.

Video Viral

In the viral video, Mr. Mishra can be seen confronting the accused, who allegedly admitted to the act, stating, “I did it because I liked it.” The accused passenger’s wife defended him, urging the victim to let him go. The wife kept begging Mr Mishra to forgive her husband.

In another video, Mr Mishra is seen thrashing the man and threatening the accused to hand him over to the RPF officer. Meanwhile the wife continued pleading to forgive her husband. Mishra captioned the video questioning- if this had happened to a woman, wouldn’t the reaction been different?

RPF dismisses the matter

The incident was reported to the Railway Protection Force (RPF). However, as the wife of the accused kept pleading frantically, RPF allegedly dismissed the complaint. They stated ‘since both were men, it wasn’t a serious matter’. Even other fellow passengers remained silent.

Mishra also wrote “This is the reality, if even boys are not safe on the trains, how can we expect females to be safe? The crowd defended him because he was travelling with his wife”.

Netizens React

Meanwhile, the viral video has sparked widespread outrage on social media. The netizens are condemning the harassment faced by the man. Many even questioned why bystanders did not intervene or call the authorities.

One such user wrote, “Hope the man gets justice …High time Laws and protection is available for all irrespective of gender … @railminindia @rpf_railway_ how are cases of harassment being dismissed because both parties belong to the same gender…. So if I am harassed by a female in Indian railways @rpf_india_official will not protect me ??????”.