Probe on to check if 2 commuters died due to flash strike by rly staff at CSMT

An FIR would be registered after recording the statements of the three injured commuters and witnesses at the accident site, GRP officers said

MUMBAI: A day after two people died after being hit by a local train while walking along the railway tracks near Sandhurst Road station, the Government Railway Police (GRP) on Friday launched a probe to ascertain if negligence on the part of railway employees who participated in a protest at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on Thursday evening was responsible for the deaths.

CSMT was packed with stranded commuters on Thursday evening as trains were suspended due to a flash protest by railway employees (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

“Our task is to find out if passengers were forced to jump off the stationary train and walk along the tracks towards CSMT because local train services were suspended in light of the protest at CSMT ,” a senior GRP officer familiar with the probe told Hindustan Times.

Thursday’s flash protest was organised by two of the largest railway employees’ unions – the Central Railway Mazdoor Sangh (CRMS) and the National Rail Mazdoor Union (NRMU). The objective of the protest was to seek cancellation of the first information report (FIR) against two Central Railway (CR) engineers over the mishap in Mumbra on June 9, in which five passengers died after falling from two overcrowded local trains crossing each other during the morning rush hour, the unions said.

GRP officers alleged the protest was illegal.

“We have conducted a spot inspection and are investigating if any permission had been secured for the protest,” the GRP officer quoted earlier said. CCTV footage of the area where the protest was held is being examined to determine if train services were halted due to the protests, the officer said.

According to the GRP, Thursday’s accident occurred near railway pole number 2/120. The two deceased and three injured people were travelling on a Wadala-CSMT local, which had halted shortly before Sandhurst Road station. They alighted from the train after it remained stationary for more than half an hour and began walking along the tracks towards CSMT, GRP officers said.

As the five commuters were walking along the tracks, they were hit by an Ambernath-bound train which left CSMT after protestors were dispersed around 6.45pm. All five were rushed to Sir J J Hospital, where two persons were declared brought dead.

Senior police inspector from the CSMT GRP, Katare Sambhaji, said they had recovered a black trolley bag and shoes from the accident spot.

“We will send these to the lab for testing,” he said.

Another GRP officer said an FIR would be registered after recording the statements of the three injured commuters and witnesses at the accident site.

Deputy commissioner of police Pradnya Jedge said all angles of the incident were being investigated.

Deceased cremated

The last rites of two people killed in Thursday’s accident were held on Friday in Mumbai and Nagpur, while the three injured commuters are under treatment at private hospitals in the city.

Munaf Shaikh, brother of 62-year-old Hafiza Choughale, said his sister had suffered internal bleeding in the brain, as revealed by CT and MRI scans.

“We received a call around 6.30pm (on Thursday). When we were told what had happened, we were completely shattered,” he said.

When the family reached JJ Hospital, where the injured were taken, on Thursday evening, doctors were putting Hafiza Choughale on a ventilator, but the machine appeared to be malfunctioning, Shaikh said. “Hence, we decided to get her discharged and shifted her to a private hospital in Byculla.”

The neurosurgeon treating Choughale said she might take between five to fifteen days to regain consciousness.

“She can move her hands and legs, so there is some hope. We’re just praying she recovers,” Shaikh said. “We just want our family to come out of this nightmare.”

Choughale’s son Kaif, who was among the three injured persons, had suffered a fracture in his shoulder and was undergoing treatment, Shaikh mentioned.

A relative of Haley Momaya, the 19-year-old woman who died in Thursday’s accident, said Momaya was cremated at the Shivajipark crematorium around 12.30pm.

“No one from the state government or railway authorities came to help or enquire about what had happened. They do not pay heed to anyone when they have to help,” the relative said.

Haley’s paternal aunt Khushbhu Momaya, who was among the injured, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mumbai Central after being discharged against medical advice from JJ Hospital. She has suffered injuries on her arm and is currently stable, the relative said.

Suryakant Naik, 45, who was among the two dead on Thursday, was cremated on Friday in Nagpur, his native place.