Mumbai, Apr 17 (Mid-day): A train commuter’s curiosity led to the unraveling of a most horrific rape incident wherein two sisters aged five and seven were brutally raped for three consecutive mornings by two boys in Kanjurmarg.

The matter came to light yesterday when Bhandup resident Kshama Bhatkar (46) who was on her way to work saw a young girl shivering and writhing in discomfort on a bench at platform number two of Bhandup railway station at about 10.30 am. Her curiosity got the better of her and Bhatkar went up to the girl to enquire about her condition.

After the seven-year-old girl confided in Bhatkar and narrated the shocking sequence of events, a trembling Bhatkar quickly accompanied the girl to the Government Railway Police (GRP) office at Kurla and filed a rape complaint.

The family has been staying at Bhandup station as their home had Their Bhandup house had been demolished for a road-widening project three to four months ago. Pics/Prashant Waydande

The family has been staying at Bhandup station as their home had Their Bhandup house had been demolished for a road-widening project three to four months ago. Pics/Prashant Waydande

The girl and her younger sister had gone through hell, as the two accused, who are aged 19 and 21 and work at a mall in Bhandup, sexually assaulted them for three consecutive days at an under-construction building in Kanjurmarg.

Missed train

The girl and her sister, along with their parents, were to board an outstation train for their native place in Ratnagiri from Thane station on Sunday night, but they could not board the general compartment of the train, as it was overcrowded.

The family was returning to Ratnagiri again as they could not find accommodation in the city. Their Bhandup house had been demolished for a road-widening project three to four months ago, after which they spent some time in Konkan and returned to the city a few weeks ago in the hope of finding a place to stay.

They decided to proceed to Bhandup station and spend the night there, as it is less crowded at night than Thane railway station. Tragedy, however, struck in the wee hours of the next morning, as the accused who were lurking around the station spotted the girls sleeping a little away from their parents and approached the girls.

The duo lured the girls to the under-construction six-floor building site, where work has come to a standstill since a few months, and raped them. The seven-year-old girl, in her statement to the GRP, said that the boys had woken them up at 4 am, dragged them to the building site, raped them and then brought them back to the station. She added that they did this for three mornings Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Nabbed within hours

After the complaint was lodged, two plainclothes railway police accompanied the girl to hunt for the accused. “The police men searched for the boys in the surrounding areas and within two hours, they were tracked and arrested. They were taken to Kurla GRP where the minor identified them as the culprits,” said Bhatkar.

Shivaji Dhumal, senior police inspector, GRP, Kurla, said, “We have registered the case and the girls have been sent for a medical test.” The duo has been booked under sections 376, 363, and 34 of the IPC.

Bhatkar’s curiosity

According to Bhatkar, she was on her way to her workplace in Mahim when she saw the survivor resting on one of the benches near the ladies compartment. “I have a habit of looking around and observing situations.

The girl was dressed like a boy and it made me curious. I tried speaking to her, but she started crying due to the pain,” said Bhatkar. Bhatkar decided to forego her train and began consoling the girl, after which the minor broke down and narrated the incident.

“It’s really horrible to even think of what the girls went through. She was crying bitterly and screaming in pain. She was not able to walk properly and had some marks on her body,” added Bhatkar.

Girl wants to stay with police kaka

This reporter went to Bhandup railway station and traced the girls’ mother, as they continue to take refuge at the station. “I don’t know what I should do. I am very upset and being poor I can’t do anything.

I didn’t know that my daughters have gone through all this,” said the mother, adding that she did not have an inkling of what was happening to her daughters prior to the incident coming to light.

The elder daughter, however, told the cops that when the boys were taking her, she tried to wake her mother but she did not react and continued sleeping.

Traumatised with the events, the eldest daughter now doesn’t want to go to her parents and wants to stay with police kaka. She told the cops that she wants to become a police officer when she grows up.