Attacked in disability coach: Visually impaired woman targeted in train coach; nice-year-old son tries to raise alarm

KASARAGOD: A 49-year-old visually impaired woman was allegedly assaulted in the disability coach of a moving train early Sunday morning. Railway police arrested Ayyappa, 23, a native of Karnataka, in connection with the incident. The woman was travelling from Ernakulam with her nine-year-old son on the Mumbai LTT Special train when the incident occurred.

Ayyappa, who boarded the train at Kannur, initially stood near the door, blowing a whistle and shouting. The woman subsequently removed the chain she was wearing around her neck and kept it in her bag. The accused then asked her to move inside the coach. When she did not move away from the door immediately, he allegedly pushed her to the floor. He pushed her down again when she tried to get up, causing her to fall beneath two seats, according to her account.

The accused then allegedly grabbed her by the neck and covered her mouth. During the assault, the woman asked her son to pull the train's emergency chain. Although the boy pulled it down, the accused continued attacking her. The woman managed to break free and tried to reach the emergency chain, but the accused prevented her from doing so. While struggling to escape, she eventually managed to pull the chain and bring the train to a halt.

The accused got off the train and fled before boarding another coach. After the train stopped, the loco pilot and other railway staff arrived and enquired about the incident. When they learned that the assailant had entered another coach, they alerted other passengers. The train continued to Kasaragod, where railway police apprehended the accused.

The woman said she had been travelling by train for the past 30 years and had never experienced anything like this before. She said she had escaped by sheer luck and that her fear had still not subsided.