Supriya Sule, a leader of the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), used a social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, to demand stringent action against an RPF constable accused of confining and raping a 17-year-old girl from Chhattisgarh in a Pune railway quarter. In her Marathi message, Sule expressed her outrage and called for the perpetrator to be swiftly prosecuted in a fast-track court.
"An incident involving the rape of a minor girl by a railway security personnel in Pune has come to light. This is an abominable and dehumanising act. It is crucial that strict action be taken against the guilty person through prosecution in a fast-track court," she wrote in Marathi.
On a Tuesday, the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Pune initiated a case against the RPF constable, charging him with rape and unlawful confinement related to the incident that occurred between September 12 and September 17. Following the traumatic experience, the girl returned to her hometown in Chhattisgarh and filed a Zero FIR with the local police, which was subsequently forwarded to the GRP in Pune. An FIR was officially registered by the GRP, and an investigation was launched.
Additional Superintendent Ganesh Shinde of GRP Pune reported that the constable's accomplice had been apprehended, and efforts were underway to locate the constable, Anil Pawar. In response to the incident, Ramdas Bhise, the Pune railway division PRO and divisional commercial manager, confirmed the suspension of the accused constable. Additionally, an RPF inspector at the Pune railway station was facing suspension due to alleged negligence during the initial investigation. The arrested individual was identified as Kamlesh Tiwari.
It was revealed that the minor girl had eloped with a friend from Chhattisgarh and arrived at the Pune railway station. The accused RPF constable, Anil Pawar, reportedly encountered them and, under the guise of offering assistance from an NGO, took them to the railway quarters on Tadiwala Road. There, he and his accomplice allegedly confined and raped her.