At least 2 killed after being hit by train in Mumbai; agitation by rail staff adds to rush at stations

Mumbai: At least two commuters were killed and two others were injured after being knocked down by a suburban train between the Sandhurst Road and Masjid Bunder railway stations of Mumbai’s suburban train network on Tuesday evening peak hours.

Top officials of the Mumbai-headquartered Central Railway (CR), Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) have rushed to the spot.

Heavy crowd was seen at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

The injured persons have been rushed to the Sir JJ Hospital at Byculla where two were declared dead and the condition of two are awaited.

There was heavy rush in the suburban railway platforms when motormen went on a flash agitation because of an FIR filed against two railway engineers in connection with the June 9 Mumbra train accident involving two locals, which claimed four lives.

According to initial information, the people who were injured in Thursday’s incident had alighted from the train to the tracks when they were hit by a speeding local train.

The incident took place around 1850 hrs.

The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has confirmed two deaths.

Those killed included Helly Mohmaya, a 19-year-old girl and an unidentified male while these injured include Kaif Choghale (22) and Khusbhu (45),

The June incident had occurred between Diva and Mumbra railway stations when the trains were passing each other at a sharp curve.

When the latest reports came in, the trains had started and were back on schedule.

“The protest of employees at CSMT on account of FIR by GRP against two engineers has been pacified and trains have restarted at 18.45 from CSMT,” the CR said.

The CR officials, however, said that it is not proper to link the accident and the agitation.

The FIR, registered on Sunday in Thane GRP, named Assistant Divisional Engineer Vishal Dolas and Senior Section Engineer Samar Yadav as the main accused.

They have been accused of ignoring warnings, neglecting crucial repairs, and leaving the tracks vulnerable, leading to the tragic incident.

The protesting employees did not allow motormen and train managers to operate trains between 5.50 pm and 6.45 pm. The protest caused overcrowding in trains during the evening rush hours - and it led to bunching of trains on the Up and Down side.