Mother-daughter duo jumps before train, die

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 17

A mother-daughter duo reportedly committed suicide today by jumping in front of a train near the Sodal railway crossing.

The incident was reported around 9 am when some local residents informed the police that a woman in her early forties was found dead on the railway tracks with an injured girl. As per information, the duo jumped in front of the Amritsar-Haridwar Intercity train.

Government Railway Police (GRP) officials, who reached the spot, later said the woman’s body was cut into pieces and the girl got her head severely injured after coming in contact with the train. While the mother died on the spot, her daughter succumbed to her injuries on the way to a hospital. The deceased were identified as Rajbala (44) and Harshita Kumari (13). A phone number recovered from the purse of Rajbala helped the police in tracing her whereabouts.

SHO, GRP, Dharminder Kalyan, said the deceased were natives of Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, and were residing here at Santoshi Nagar.

Sher Singh, the father of Rajbala, who reached the city later this afternoon, told the police that she was mentally challenged for the past two years and was under depression. She was residing in the city with her husband, Suresh, Harshita and a 16-year old son. While Suresh runs a private clinic at Santoshi Nagar, Rajbala was a homemaker and the family is residing here for the past 20 years.

Meanwhile, local residents and the gateman at the Sodal railway phatak told the police that before jumping before the train, they were walking alongside the tracks. They also made attempts to kill themselves by jumping before other trains in the morning but the gateman sent them away from the place. However, the reason behind the extreme step was not known yet.

Victims were natives of Kangra

While the mother died on the spot, her daughter succumbed to her injuries on the way to a hospital. The deceased were identified as Rajbala (44) and Harshita Kumari (13). A phone number recovered from the purse of Rajbala helped the police in tracing her whereabouts. SHO, GRP, Dharminder Kalyan, said the deceased were natives of Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, and were residing at Santoshi Nagar in the city.