Mumbai police save mentally ill man from being hit by train, reunite him with family
The Mumbai GRP was going to charge the man with trespassing, but soon realised that he was mentally challenged
On night duty at Sandhurst railway station, government railway police (GRP) constable Bablu Patil saw a man walking along the tracks. Assuming that the stranger was trespassing, he turned away. But, seconds later, he realised that a train was approaching. He jumped on to the tracks and pulled the man to safety.
Patil said he was going to charge the man with trespassing, but soon realised that he was mentally challenged. He took him to the GRP station house instead. The man identified himself as Shiv Narayan Chowdhary.
“He did not respond to any other questions, but just continued staring at us with a smile,” said IB Sarode, senior police inspector, Wadala GRP.
To ascertain his address, GRP officers questioned him for a few days, but their efforts were unsuccessful. They also checked for missing persons records across the city, but failed to find any leads.
“We took care of him for a few days, but it was getting difficult. I sent him to an old age home in Vasai so he would be looked after. Three days later, someone from the home called and said they were finding it difficult to control him,” he added.On October 16, Sarode sent two constables to the home to bring Chowdhary back.
“It was nothing short of a miracle that one of the constables saw a missing poster on a wall while they were heading to the home. The poster had Chowdhary’s photo and a phone number on it,” said Sarode.
Constable Sagar Dushinge called the number, which belonged to Chowdhary’s wife. Dushinge told her the man was in their custody and that she could take him home.
“Chowdhary turned out to be a resident of Vasai,” added Sarode. On Diwali, the GRP officers completed the formalities and Chowdhary was finally reunited with his family, said the police.