C T Online Desk: A young woman has been raped allegedly by three employees of a catering company on the Chittagong-bound Udayan Express train from Sylhet.
The railway police has arrested three employees of SA Corporation, the catering company that supplies food to trains, in connection with the rape.
Mohammad Nazmul Islam, general manager of Bangladesh Railway (eastern region), confirmed the matter.
A case has been filed in connection with the incident, said the official.
Furthermore, Bangladesh Railways has suspended Abdur Rahim, a guard of the train.
The rape incident happened at 4:30am on Wednesday.
The moving train was crossing the Laksam area at that time, according to railway police.
Although this incident happened in the early morning, the matter came to light after the evening.
The Udayan Express left Sylhet for Chittagong at 10pm on Tuesday and reached Chittagong at 8am yesterday.
According to Railway Police, the woman was coming to Chittagong. She got on the train from Bhairab and stayed in the food compartment.
Some employees of the food supply company first molested and then raped her.
The young woman lives in Bhairab with her relatives and her home district is in Bandarban. She was coming to Chittagong to go home.
The arrested people are- Md Jamal, 27, Md Sharif, 28, and Md Rashed, 27. They have been sent to jail through the court.
A seven-day remand prayer was filed with the court for further investigation.
The rape survivor will be sent to the One Stop Crisis Centre of Chittagong Medical College Hospital under police custody, said sources of railway police.
Sardar Shahadat Ali, director general of Bangladesh Railways, termed the incident as tragic.
He announced the cancellation of the catering service company’s licence, stating that the company had tarnished the image of Bangladesh Railways.
Legal action will be taken against those involved and Bangladesh Railways will implement stricter measures to prevent such incidents in the future, said the DG.
SA Corporation, apart from its contract with Bangladesh Railways, manages catering and onboard services for at least ten pairs of trains.
The company also oversees the parking lot at Chittagong Railway Station and leases various station facilities. Recently, SA Corporation introduced female stewards in the onboard service of the Cox’s Bazar Express train, which brought the company into the spotlight.
