Caught for allegedly sexually harassing a minor girl in a running train, Bihar BJP MlC Tunna Pandey was on Sunday arrested by the railway police and later on suspended from party. Pandey was arrested on the basis of a written complaint from the parents of the 12-year-old girl, said BN Jha, Superintendent of Railway Police (SRP), Muzaffarpur.
As per the complaint, Pandey had allegedly kissed their daughter in an AC-2 coach around 3 am and asked her to come to the toilet with him when the train was near Sarai station close to Hajipur junction, he said.
Pandey was arrested at Hajipur railway station late on Saturday evening when he alighted from the Kolkata-Gorakhur Poorvanchal Express. The girl, along with her father, was travelling in the same AC-2 compartment.
Pandey, who has been show-caused by the party, dismissed the charges as “baseless” and claimed that before getting down, he tried to unplug his mobile charger from the socket and in the process he might have inadvertently touched the girl.
Pandey is in liquor trade and an MlC from local body quota in Siwan. An FIR has been registered against the MlC with the GRP Hajipur under IPC section 354 A (demand or request for sexual favours) and POSCO ACT.
“I was not even aware who was sleeping on the berth covered with a blanket,” said Pandey, who was coming from Durgapur.
The girl, however, raised an alarm that the MlA misbehaved with her. Soon the matter was reported to the escort party and GRP.
GRP inspector Sanjay Singh said as per the complaint when the train left Sarai in Muzaffarpur, the girl started crying accusing the lawmaker of molesting her.
Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said the BJP suspended him with immediate effect and served a show-cause notice on him. Pandey however, said he was not aware of the party’s action.
Few months back, JD(U) MlA Sarfaraz Ahmad had been arrested after misbehaving with a woman passenger in Rajdhani Express. The party had suspended him from the primary membership although he got bail from the police station.