she noticed him touching the inside of his shorts
Tajinder Sabherwal, aged 40, of Bedford, was jailed for 18 months for exposing himself to women on trains over a five-year period.
The incidents occurred on trains and railway stations around London and Surrey between 2016 and 2021.
Sabherwal was found guilty of seven counts of outraging public decency.
He was also convicted of assaulting an emergency service worker within that same time frame.
Inner London Crown Court heard that several women reported that Sabherwal was seen touching himself inappropriately or exposing his genitals while sitting opposite them.
Recovered CCTV footage also showed that he would change into a different set of clothes halfway through his journeys after committing an offence.
On Saturday, April 3, 2021, an off-duty British Transport Police (BTP) officer boarded a train from Redhill to London Bridge which Sabherwal was on.
He moved carriages and sat across the aisle from her when she noticed him touching the inside of his shorts and pointing his phone towards her.
She challenged him and said that she had called 999 and followed him when the train arrived at Coulson South Station where he disembarked.
However, he violently pushed the officer out of the way and ran out of the train station.
Saberwhal was finally arrested at St Pancras Station in London on Saturday, January 30, 2021.
It followed an extensive BTP investigation and came after he sat opposite a woman on an empty train carriage and began touching himself indecently while looking at her.
The woman, who was travelling on a London Bridge to Cambridge service, challenged him at the time.
An off-duty BTP officer stepped in and removed him from the train.
Upon his arrest, he was found to be carrying different outfits and hats which matched CCTV images from previous incidents.
Investigating officer, Detective Constable Olivia Hill, said:
“Sabherwal’s odious actions were evidently pre-meditated and for his own sexual gratification.”
“These incidents will have had a serious impact on the victims’ lives, and we believe no one should be subject to such vile behaviour on the railway.
“I’m pleased to see he’ll have plenty of time to reflect on this in prison.”
“I would urge anyone who witnesses or experiences sexual harassment on the railway to report it to us – no report is too small or insignificant and we will always take you seriously.”
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).