Thieves assaulted and shoved a 29-year-old serviceman from a moving train as they tried snatching his mobile phone near the Nayandahalli railway station in western Bengaluru on Sunday.
Madegowda, who was travelling home with wife and their toddler, is battling for his life following serious injuries to his head. Police said he was receiving treatment at Command Hospital.
Madegowda’s wife Deepika told DH that they were coming to Maddur from Delhi to attend a relative’s wedding. She added that Madegowda was posted in Bathinda, Punjab, where the family resided.
The family reached Bengaluru by Rajdhani Express and then took the Tuticorin Express to Maddur at 7.20 am from KSR Bengaluru railway station. They were in a sleeper coach.
The train was reaching the Krishnadevaraya railway station when Madegowda told his wife that he was going to the washroom. But he did not return after a long time.
Deepika overheard passengers talking about a man being shoved from the moving train. In a state of panic, she tried calling Madegowda. The phone rang several times but he did not answer. She went to the washroom and confirmed that it was Madegowda who fell from the train.
Deepika began screaming when a passenger Chetan came to her rescue. They pulled the chain, and when the train stopped, Chetan, Deepika and her child got down with their luggage and walked back in search of Madegowda.
The train had come four kilometres from where Madegowda had fallen. “It was a harrowing experience,” Deepika said.
Noticing the deserted area, Chetan asked Deepika and her child to wait in a place where there were people and walked a further two kilometres to locate Madegowda, who lay unconscious. Having located him with the descriptions of the trouser and shirt given by Deepika, Chetan called her to inform that her husband was breathing.
Chetan had already called the ambulance and reported the incident to the police, who arrived an hour later.
Deepika filed a complaint with the city railway police seeking action against the thieves who shoved Madegowda from the train while trying to rob him.
“Despite my pleas for help, none came forward except one man,” Deepika said. “There was also no police presence on the train.”
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