Man pushed before a Mumbai local train after spat

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, April 24

A Mumbai commuter lost his life after two commuters pushed him on the path of an oncoming train following an argument on Saturday morning, according to the Government Railway Police.

The incident happened on Saturday morning when Deepak Chamanlal Patwa was waiting at Mulund railway station's platform No.3 to board a train towards Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Shortly before the train entered the station, Patwa fell on the tracks and was run over. GRP officials said they had initially recorded a case of accidental death.

However after viewing footage from the CCTV cameras installed at the railway station, it appeared that the 56-year old victim was pushed onto the train tracks.

“The CCTV footage showed the man stop to talk to a woman and a man near the foot overbridge on the platform. Soon the three got into an argument and the duo slapped and pushed Patwa onto the train tracks,” a GRP official said.

According to the official Patwa appeared to have accidentally bumped into the woman and got into an argument with her and the man standing on the platform. The police official said CCTV footage indicated that the man who shoved Patwa onto the tracks had seen the train entering the station before pushing him before it.

The police have released visuals of the duo pushing Patwa on to the path of the oncoming train. While the man appears to be around 40 years old and 5.7 feet tall, the woman appears to be around 35 years old and 5 feet tall.

Patwa's relatives told reporters that they had filed a police complaint after some commuters spoke of the victim being pushed before the train. “The police checked the CCTV footage after we alerted them,” Ajit Shah, Patwa’s brother-in-law, told reporters here.

Patwa was in the steel business and was going to his office on the fateful day, according to police.

The police have released pictures of the woman from the CCTV grab. However they are unable to identify the man who joined her in pushing Patwa onto the tracks.