Salem: Woman loco pilot alleges sexual assault by senior, seeks strict action

NEW DELHI: A female assistant loco pilot from the Salem Division of Southern Railway has demanded strict action against a chief loco inspector after being allegedly sexually assaulted by him.

The incident occurred on September 13 last year during an examination for an orientation course. Based on an initial complaint from the woman, the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) recommended merely transferring and issuing a warning to the accused officer.

"The Chief Loco Inspector, T Selvaraj, allegedly touched her head, shoulder, thigh, hip and lip," the ICC said while recording the woman's statement.

However, the woman, in her appeal before the Salem Divisional Railway Manager, said, "The incident was never mere touching or physical contact towards me. Rather, it constituted aggravated sexual harassment and assault with intent to outrage my modesty, as defined under Sections 74 and 75 of the BNS."

In her initial complaint, the woman had alleged that after finding her alone during the examination for the orientation course, Selvaraj allegedly sexually assaulted her. Based on this, the Salem Senior Divisional Electrical Engineer appointed the ICC.

The victim told the committee that after completing the examination, when she returned home, Selvaraj called her and apologised for his actions, saying that such a mistake would not happen again, and requested her to "forget" the incident.

Corroborating these claims through call recordings submitted by the woman, in its report, the committee said that Selvaraj accepted all the charges in toto.

"Accordingly, the ICC holds that the charges framed against T Selvaraj, CLI/ED, are proved," the report said.

The ICC recommended transferring Selvaraj from the Salem Division's Erode depot and issuing a strict warning of stringent action in case of any recurrence of similar misconduct or complaints in the future.

Southern Railway, acting on the report of a fact-finding inquiry conducted by the ICC, transferred the accused employee to Coimbatore and issued a warning of stringent action in case of any recurrence of similar misconduct in the future.

The committee also recommended installing CCTV cameras at appropriate locations within office premises to enhance safety, transparency, and monitoring in the workplace.

In her appeal, the woman raised serious objections to the committee's recommendations, saying that the recommendations that only warn the offender, after the offence has been proved, are rather painful.

Alleging that the actions represent a grave violation of statutory criminal provisions, she said, "It was a planned move by him, knowing well that nobody would be there in the office of the Crew Controller, which was on the first floor of the Crew booking office at Erode. He called me to the office to renew my orientation certificate."

The woman also said that she struggled to escape and managed to get out of the office.

Accusing the ICC of handling the issue lightly, she said the harassment she faced was a direct assault on her personal dignity.

She also expressed shock at being served a copy of the inquiry report in an open condition by the Crew Controller, as if it were a public document, without maintaining confidentiality.

She further requests the necessary directions to be issued to the concerned authorities to maintain confidentiality in such matters.