‘Alok was soft-spoken, never picked a fight’

Pratap Nagar in Kurar village in Malad east was enveloped in grief when the body of deceased Alok Singh arrived back home

MUMBAI: Pratap Nagar in Kurar village in Malad east was enveloped in grief when the body of Alok Singh, 33, arrived at 11C, SRA building, in Kurar village, in Malad east. Singh’s wife Puja was inconsolable and other family members heartbroken.

iMumbai, India - January 25, 2026: Family members and relatives mourn during the funeral of Alok Kumar Singh (33), a junior college faculty member at Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, who was allegedly murdered following an argument over alighting from a local train compartment at Malad railway station in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, January 25, 2025. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Relatives later said that, to soften the blow, Puja was initially told that her husband had died in an accident. She learnt that he was stabbed to death only after the funeral.

Singh had joined NM College in Vile Parle as a mathematics and statistics teacher in 2024 and was teaching in the junior college division. Married only two years ago, he is remembered by family, friends and neighbours as pleasant and soft-spoken.

“I have never seen him raise his voice,” said Singh’s brother-in-law. “He was always respectful and never picked a fight. He always greeted us when we passed each other in the vicinity,” a neighbour told HT.

Singh’s relatives allege there was a delay in getting him medical treatment, which could have proved decisive. Mahesh Singh, Alok’s brother, claimed he was taken to hospital half an hour later than necessary. He said police asked his brother to sit on a bench on platform 1 at Malad station, bleeding, while the police inquired into the incident. Instead, he should have been rushed to hospital immediately, Mahesh said.