Thane: The Mumbai Railway Police Commissionerate has arrested all eight people accused in the gang-rape of a woman on board the Lucknow-Mumbai Pushpak Express in the Kalyan area of Mumbai on Friday. Police said that all the accused are drug addicts and committed the act under the influence of drugs.
On Friday night, an eight-member robbery gang had boarded the Mumbai-bound Pushpak Express train at Igatpuri railway station with the intention of robbery. They later raped a 20-year-old woman on board the train and made away with stolen goods, mostly mobile phones, worth Rs 96,390 from the passengers. Police arrested four of the accused on Saturday.
The accused have been identified as Arshad Khan, Prakash Pardhi, Kishore Sonawane, Kashinath alias Kashya Telang, Akash Shenare and Dhananjay Bhagat alias Guddu. The names of the other two could not be ascertained. All the eight accused are friends with each other and seven of them are residents of Maharashtra's Ghoti, while one lives in Mumbai.
Kalyan railway police had registered a case against the accused under Sections 395 (dacoity), 397 (robbery or dacoity), 376(D) (gang rape), 354 (assault or use of criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage her modesty), 354(B) (assault or use of criminal force to any woman or abetment of such act with the intention of disrobing or compelling her to be naked) of the Indian Penal Code and also Sections 137 (fraudulent travel) and 153 (endanger the safety of any person travelling) of the Indian Railways Act.
