Mumbai: GRP Probes Fatal Sandhurst Road Incident; Questions Raised Over Coordination During Railway Employees' Strike
Mumbai: Following Thursday’s railway employees’ strike, the Government Railway Police (GRP) has seemingly adopted a wait-and-watch approach in the case of two persons being knocked down by a local train at the Sandhurst Road station amid the protest chaos.
In an apparent lack of coordination, the GRP claimed that while the railway unions had given an intimation about the strike, the administration had not informed the force. When asked whether formal permission from the GRP was required, the officials avoided a direct answer. They also alleged that the RPF was not proactive during the stir.
A GRP officer said, “Currently, we have lodged an accidental death report and if anything is revealed during the probe, we will register an FIR regarding the agitation.”
So far, no case has been lodged in connection with the protest or the fatal mishap. Additional commissioner of police Neelima Kulkarni is handling the probe. The GRP officials asserted that the ongoing investigation into the Mumbra incident has not been affected by the railway union’s agitation. Sources said that the railways could approach the court in the Mumbra case. However, since the protest and subsequent accident, the GRP is proceeding cautiously with further steps.
The deceased were identified as Haley Momaiya, 19, a resident of Matunga and Surykant Naik, 68, a resident of Nagpur. The injured trio are Hafija Chougle, 60, her son Kaif, 22, both residents of Mumbra, and Haley's aunt Khushbu Momaiya. When the FPJ contacted the deceased teen's father Priyesh Momaiya, he was in deep grief and unable to express his emotions.
Talking to this newspaper, Hafija's brother Munaf said that he plans to take legal action against those responsible for the disruption of train services. The septuagenarian and her son were traveling to meet Munaf at Bhendi Bazaar when the incident occurred. “My sister is still unconscious,” Munaf lamented, underlining that the accident might have been avoided had the local train service not been disrupted.
Saif, Hafija's other son, said, “My mother and brother started their journey from Mumbra around 5pm by an AC local. They got down at Byculla and boarded a slow local, which stopped about 200 meters away from the Sandhurst Road station.”
They were stranded inside the train for around 45 minutes and eventually decided to walk towards the station, said Saif. “However, they couldn’t notice the approaching local train due to a sharp curve. After being hit, they fell into a drain. My mother suffered a head injury,” he said. Hafija and Kaif are currently undergoing treatment at Balaji Hospital, Byculla, while Khushbu is being treated at Nair Hospital.
The GRP has launched a probe to determine whether the negligence of protesters was responsible for the deaths. Officials are probing whether passengers were forced to jump off stationary trains and walk on the tracks after services were halted due to the flash strike. DCP (Central Railway) Pradnya Jedge said all angles are being investigated, but declined to comment further, citing the ongoing probe. CSMT GRP senior inspector Sambhaji Katare said, “We have been collecting all possible evidence.”
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