A Surrey man has been charged with three counts of sexual assault, all of which occurred on board the transit system in Vancouver last year.

The first incident allegedly occurred on Jan. 25, 2024, when a man was reported to have made inappropriate physical contact with a woman while on board a crowded Canada Line train. The woman left the train and called police, a Transit Police release said.

The second incident occurred on April 11, 2024, when a witness saw a man standing suspiciously close to an unidentified teenage passenger on board a Canada Line train. When the man allegedly leaned into the girl inappropriately, the witness called police.

The third incident occurred on May 9, 2024, on board a crowded Expo Line train. A woman felt someone pressing into her numerous times as she was standing in the train, the release continued. She turned around to confront the suspect, who fled the train at the next stop.

Transit Police General Investigation Unit detectives investigated each incident and were able to link all three incidents to the same suspect, who has been identified as 55-year-old Rajinder Singh Chahal from Surrey.

Chahal has now been charged with three counts of sexual assault, and was released pending his court appearance with strict conditions, including those that restrict his access to transit, the release said.

鈥淩educing sexual offences is a Transit Police operational priority. Since the impact of these reprehensible acts can be devastating and have a lifelong impact on those who experience them, our officers will work on a file as long as is necessary to ensure that anyone who would commit these kinds of crimes on the transit system is caught and held accountable," Transit Police Sgt. Dustin Szakacs said.

Anyone who experiences or witnesses a crime on or near transit is asked to report it to Transit Police by calling 604-515-8300 or text 87.77.77 for non-emergency.

Always call 9-1-1 in an emergency, the release noted.