Station master held for raping teen girl in Vadodara

VADODARA: A 19-year-old girl has registered a complaint of rape against a station master at Vadodara railway police station. The girl told the police the accused identified as Rajendra Kumar Varma, a resident of Gotri, allegedly raped her at the Pilol railway station about eight months ago.
The police have detained Varma and sent him for Covid-19 tests. If tested negative, he will be arrested immediately.
The girl, who is married and hails from Madhya Pradesh, worked as a sanitation worker at Pilol railway station. She told the police that Varma, approached her on March 1 when she was cleaning up a room near his office. He raped her and later even offered her Rs 100 for keeping her mouth shut about the incident.
The girl, though, refused to accept the money. She also informed her husband about the incident following which he asked her to quit the job. The couple left for its hometown during the lockdown and returned in June. “On October 17, the accused went to the girl’s residence and flashed a knife. She said that he threatened her,” said B S Jadhav, DySP, GRP, who is investigating the case.
The couple got scared and approached the railway police on Sunday. A complaint under Atrocities Act has also been registered against Varma as the girl belongs to the scheduled tribe.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)