‘My brother tried to climb back on the platform but no one helped’

It is paradoxical that Mumbaikars who thrive on being active and purposeful often fail to act when a fellow citizen is in the midst of a catastrophe. This is what family members of 26-year-old Dinesh Rathod feel. Dinesh was assaulted by a couple on platform number 1 of Sion railway station on Sunday at 9:10 pm, leading to his fall on the tracks and eventual death

MUMBAI: It is paradoxical that Mumbaikars who thrive on being active and purposeful often fail to act when a fellow citizen is in the midst of a catastrophe. This is what family members of 26-year-old Dinesh Rathod feel. Dinesh was assaulted by a couple on platform number 1 of Sion railway station on Sunday at 9:10 pm, leading to his fall on the tracks and eventual death. Voicing their outrage, his cousin Suresh Rathod said, “The people on the platform just looked at my brother struggling to climb up from the tracks but did nothing. They simply watched while a train hit him.”

‘My brother tried to climb back on the platform but no one helped’

Dinesh was a BEST bus conductor, whose service was confirmed only recently and he was looking forward to getting married. He was also the sole bread winner of the family that lives in Washim. He looked after his ailing aged parents, brother and a younger sister. Dinesh lived in Ghansoli, and was on his way back home when the husband-wife duo assaulted him, thinking he had brushed against the wife, while walking by.

“The officers assumed he was in an inebriated state but we clarified to the police that it was his gait – he often seemed to sway while walking. Moreover he had just finished duty at 8.30 pm and was returning home to Ghansoli,” said Suresh, who visited the Dadar Government Railway Police (GRP) on Friday to record his statements and complete the formalities after cremating him in Washim, around 530 kilometers from Mumbai.

Suresh was informed about the incident on Monday at 2am – around five hours after it had occurred. He said that the couple Avinash Mane and his wife Sheetal Mane, who were arrested the next day, had assaulted him “for no reason and hit him so hard that he lost his balance and fell on the tracks”.

“My cousin was a lean man while Avinash is bulky. The couple could have called the police if they thought he had misbehaved, but instead they chose to hit him and leave him to die,” he said, calling for a police probe into the matter. Did they know one another, was the episode pre-planned – these are some of the questions running though Suresh’s mind.

The family of the victim is “in a state of shock and agitated with fellow passengers who were present when the incident took place”.

“Anyone could have pulled him back before he was crushed between the local train and the edge of the platform. The CCTV footage clearly indicated that there were a few seconds in which people could have helped save him. But everyone left him struggling,” said Suresh, who works at Mantralaya.

Meanwhile, GRP officers investigating the case are recording statements of bystanders seen in the CCTV recording, who witnessed the assault and the course of events thereafter. “We are trying to get an enhanced quality of the recordings,” said the officer.

Earlier on Sunday, after Sheetal felt Dinesh had molested her, she picked up her umbrella and started hitting him. Her husband intervened and dealt a few blows, as a result of which Dinesh lost his balance and fell on the tracks. The couple hit him again with the umbrella preventing him from getting back on his feet and leaping back on the platform.

As soon as he started scrambling to climb up, a train coming from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus towards Kalyan, hit him injuring him severely. He was rushed to the local hospital, where he died during treatment. The police registered a case accidental death (ADR).

While investigating the case, the crime branch officer scanned through the CCTV recordings and found that Dinesh was pushed on the tracks intentionally by Avinash. The police then registered a case under section 304 (2) death due to rash and negligent act not amounting to murder and 34 of the Indian Penal Code against the duo. The couple was arrested on Tuesday.