Allahabad High Court asks Railways Ministry about steps taken to curb sexual crimes against women on trains

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Union Railways Ministry to provide details of specific measures undertaken to prevent sexual crimes against women on running trains and at railway stations [In Re Mau Incident]..The Court was hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) initiated in 2016 after a woman was gang raped on a moving train.On February 2, a bench of Justices Attau Rahman Masoodi and Brij Raj Singh asked the Railway Ministry authorities to respond on the steps taken by them to curb such incidents on running trains and railway stations. "Let notice be issued to the Ministry of Railways, Government of India alongwith a copy of the order passed by this Court on 19.6.2016 to show cause as to what measures have been taken by the Ministry of Railways to curb such incidents in the running trains and at the railway stations operated by the Ministry," the Court directed..Meanwhile, an Additional Advocate General informed the Court that the victim in the Mau rape case has received a sum of ₹2,81,000 so far as compensation out of an amount of ₹3,75,000 which was earmarked as compensation.In response, the Court asked the State counsel to obtain instructions about why the remaining amount has not been disbursed to the victim yet.The matter will be taken up next on March 4..The Mau rape took place in September 2016, when a woman was thrown out of a moving train in Mau district of Uttar Pradesh after she was gang-raped. She was reportedly found in a nude condition and with her ankle chopped. She alleged that she had been gang-raped by two persons and later thrown off the moving train.The High Court took note of the incident and initiated a suo motu case the following day.The Court later took note of other similar incidents and eventually issued certain directions to the government of India and the Ministry of Railways while hearing one such case in 2013..On a related note in September last year, the High Court initiated another suo motu case after a woman police officer from Uttar Pradesh was found injured on a train. Citing media reports, the Court was told that the officer was found in a pool of blood, unable to move by herself, with a deep cut on her face and other injuries..[Read Order]