15 eyewitnesses confirm fatal stabbing; knife recovered was murder weapon

At least 15 witnesses stated in their police statements that they saw 30-year-old Roshan Suvarna pull out a knife from his bag and brutally stab 22-year-old Mayank Lohar in the first-class compartment of a Churchgate-Nalasopara local train

MUMBAI: At least 15 witnesses stated in their police statements that they saw 30-year-old Roshan Suvarna pull out a knife from his bag and brutally stab 22-year-old Mayank Lohar in the first-class compartment of a Churchgate-Nalasopara local train on June 23, states the 1100-page chargesheet filed against Suvarna by the Borivali Government Railway Police (GRP) before the Borivali Magistrate court.

Mumbai, India. June 24, 2026 - File Photo of Mayan Lohar. Mayank Lohar, a 22-year-old resident of Virar, was allegedly stabbed to death on a moving local train following a dispute about closing the coach door during heavy rain. Mumbai, India. June 24, 2026. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Raju Shinde)

The chargesheet also contains evidence reports that the knife found by the staff of a hotel in Dahisar was the same one Suvarna used to attack Lohar.

“The knife we recovered was indeed the murder weapon,” said Pandrinath Kande, senior police inspector of Borivali GRP.

The chargesheet contains CCTV images of Suvarna exiting the railway platform and Borivali station minutes after he stabbed Lohar. Kande said his team recorded statements from at least 68 witnesses after the incident, including Lohar’s parents and siblings; Suvarna’s parents and the friend who sold him the knife seven months before the incident.

“Suvarna had been carrying the knife in his backpack for seven months,” confirmed Kande, adding that forensic reports of Suvarna and Lohar’s clothes, and the authenticity report of the videos shot by eyewitnesses of the incident are awaited. “We will submit the reports in court once we receive them,” said Kande.

The eyewitness stated that an agitated Suvarna then removed the knife from his bag, tore off the paper cover and attacked Lohar while uttering abuses, said a GRP officer. He added that eyewitnesses shared that “seeing blood and the knife, other scared passengers could do nothing to save the young man; everything happened very fast.”

Ramesh Lohar, Mayank’s father said, “I have been informed that the chargesheet has been filed. I will not rest until I see the killer of my son, hanged.”