Odisha railway staffer arrested for rape, lured woman with confirmed ticket promise
A woman passenger has accused a railway valve man of raping her inside a valve room at Rourkela station. The allegation has triggered a police investigation and renewed scrutiny of passenger safety at the station.
A railway employee has been arrested after a woman passenger accused him of raping her inside a valve room on the premises of Rourkela railway station in Odisha, police said. The Government Railway Police (GRP) has registered a case and launched an investigation into the allegations.
According to the complaint, the woman, a resident of Odisha’s Nuapada district, had reached Rourkela railway station in the early hours of Thursday to travel to Bengaluru. She did not have a confirmed ticket at the time. She met the accused, identified as 54-year-old Kapileshwar Singh, a valve man working with the railway’s IOW (Inspector of Works) department.
The woman mentioned in her complaint that Singh promised to help her get a confirmed ticket and took her to a valve room on Platform No. 1, where he raped her.
Following the complaint, the GRP contacted the railway’s senior section engineer (SSE) to obtain information about the valve man who was on duty at the time. When Singh arrived at the location, the woman identified him as the accused, police said.
The woman was later taken to the Rourkela government hospital for a medical examination. The GRP subsequently registered FIR No. 126/2026 under Section 64(2)(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Police said Singh is currently in GRP custody as the investigation continues. The circumstances surrounding the incident, including the sequence of events inside the railway premises, are being examined.
QUESTIONS OVER PASSENGER’S SAFETY
The allegations have also raised concerns about the security arrangements at Rourkela railway station, which is considered an important station in the Chakradharpur railway division.
Railway Protection Force (RPF) and GRP personnel are deployed at the station as part of passenger-security arrangements.
As part of the investigation, the railway officials are presently gathering details of the case. Aditya Chaudhary, an official from the Chakradharpur division, told India Today that the matter is presently being investigated, and strict action will be taken against the employee if he is found guilty.