Loco pilots' union demand stricter action against Salem Division officer in sexual assault case

The All India Loco Running Staff Association has urged the Southern Railway to take stricter action against a chief loco inspector accused of sexually assaulting a woman assistant loco pilot in Tamil Nadus Salem Division, saying the penalty of transfer and a warning was inadequate for the gravity of the offence.

The All India Loco Running Staff Association has urged the Southern Railway to take stricter action against a chief loco inspector accused of sexually assaulting a woman assistant loco pilot in Tamil Nadu's Salem Division, saying the penalty of transfer and a warning was inadequate for the gravity of the offence. The loco pilots' union wrote to the general manager of Southern Railway, expressing strong dissatisfaction with the action taken against the official following a fact-finding inquiry by the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC). Based on the ICC's findings, the Southern Railway transferred the accused employee to Coimbatore and issued a warning of stringent action in case of any recurrence of similar misconduct. However, the union said the decision ''shocks the conscience'' of railway staff and sought the intervention of the general manager. ''An attempt to rape a lady Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP) of the Erode depot by Chief Loco Inspector T Selvaraj, which was proved before the ICC, has resulted in a mere warning and a simple transfer to another depot,'' said L. Mony, Central Working President of AILRSA, in an email to the general manager. ''It sends a disturbing signal to women workers and reflects the administration's mindset towards female employees under your control. We request your intervention to ensure justice for the victim,'' he added. The woman assistant loco pilot has also filed an appeal before the Divisional Railway Manager of the Salem Division, expressing anguish over the ICC's recommendation to merely transfer and warn the accused despite the seriousness of the offence. According to the complaint, the incident occurred on September 13, 2025, when the victim was alone writing an examination for an orientation course. The accused allegedly took advantage of the situation and sexually harassed her. ''The Chief Loco Inspector, T Selvaraj, allegedly touched her head, shoulder, thigh, hip and lips,'' the ICC noted while recording the victim's statement. In its report, the ICC said that Selvaraj accepted the charges. ''Accordingly, the ICC holds that the charges framed against Shri T Selvaraj, CLI/ED, are proved,'' it said. The committee recommended that Selvaraj be transferred from the Erode depot of the Salem Division and issued a strict warning against any recurrence of such misconduct. In her appeal, the victim said the incident went far beyond ''mere touching''. ''The incident was never a mere touching or physical contact towards me; rather, it constituted aggravated sexual harassment and assault with intent to outrage my modesty, as defined under Sections 74 and 75 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,'' the woman said. She argued that the punishment recommended by the ICC was inadequate for such a serious offence. ''His actions represent a grave violation of statutory criminal provisions. It was a planned move by him knowing well that nobody would be there in the Crew Controller's office on the first floor of the Crew Booking Office at Erode. He called me to the office to renew my orientation certificate,'' she added. The victim said she struggled to escape and managed to leave the office, alleging that the ICC had handled the matter lightly despite the harassment being a direct assault on her dignity.