New Delhi: A female co-pilot of Southern Railway’s Salem division has demanded strict action against the chief site inspector after she was sexually assaulted by him.
The incident occurred on September 13 last year during an exam for an orientation course. Based on an initial complaint from the woman, the Internal Complaints Committee recommended transferring only and issuing a warning to the accused officer.
“Chief Inspector T Selvaraj allegedly touched her head, shoulder, thigh, hip and lip,” the ICC said while recording the woman’s statement.
However, in her appeal to the Salem County Railway Superintendent, the woman said: “The incident was not merely touching or physical contact towards me. Rather, it was sexual harassment and sexual assault with intent to offend my modesty, as defined in Sections 74 and 75 of the BNS.”
In her initial complaint, the woman alleged that after finding her alone during the orientation course exam, Selvaraj allegedly sexually assaulted her. Accordingly, the Chief Electrical Engineer of Salem Division appointed the ICC.
The victim told the committee that after completing the examination, and when she returned home, Selvaraj called her and apologized to her for his actions, saying that such a mistake would not be repeated again, and asked her to “forget” the incident.
These allegations were supported by call recordings submitted by the woman. In its report, the committee said that Selvaraj accepted all the charges in full.
“Accordingly, the ICC finds that the charges against T Selvaraj, of CLI/ED, are proven,” the report said.
The ICC recommended that Selvaraj be transferred from Erode depot of Salem division and issued a stern warning of strict action in case any misconduct or similar complaints are repeated in the future.
Southern Railway, based on a fact-finding investigation report conducted by the ICC, transferred the accused employee to Coimbatore and issued a warning of strict action if similar misconduct is repeated in the future.
The committee also recommended installing surveillance cameras in appropriate locations within office buildings to enhance safety, transparency and monitoring in the workplace.
In her appeal, the woman raised serious objections to the committee’s recommendations, considering that the recommendations that do not merely warn the perpetrator, after the crime is proven, are somewhat painful.
Alleging that these acts constituted a serious violation of the criminal provisions of law, she said, “It was a planned move by him, knowing full well that there would be no one at the Crew Controller’s office, which was on the first floor of the Crew Booking Office in Erode. He called me to the office to renew my orientation certificate.”
The woman also said she struggled to escape and was able to get out of the office.
She accused the International Criminal Court of handling the case lightly, and said that the harassment she faced was a direct attack on her personal dignity.
She also expressed her shock when she received a copy of the investigation report in an open case by the crew controller, as if it were a public document, without maintaining confidentiality.
It also requests issuing the necessary directions to the concerned authorities to maintain confidentiality in such matters.
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