Stone-pelter on Harbour Line leaves woman commuter injured

A 21-year-old woman was injured by a stone thrown at her while on a train in Mumbai. Police are investigating two recent similar incidents.

MUMBAI: A 21-year-old woman commuter was struck on the face by a flying stone hurled by an unidentified person on Monday evening leaving the victim with injuries on face. The Wadala Government Railway Police (GRP) said the incident occurred around 7.30pm when the victim, identified as Harshada Pawar, was returning home from work. Pawar, who is employed at a private firm near CSMT, was standing on the footboard of a packed Harbour Line train when the attack took place.

Stone-pelter on Harbour Line leaves woman commuter injured

“As the train was passing between Cotton Green and Reay Road stations, someone lurking in the darkness hurled a stone. It hit Pawar directly on her face, leaving her bleeding and shaken,” said senior police inspector Arshuddin Shaikh of Wadala GRP.

Fellow commuters raised an alarm, after which railway police rushed Pawar to a nearby clinic. Doctors confirmed her injuries were not life-threatening.

This is not an isolated act, police admitted. Just two days earlier, on Saturday evening, another woman commuter sustained injuries in a similar stone-pelting incident at Sewri station.

“The back-to-back cases have raised concerns about a repeat offender targeting women. We are scanning CCTV cameras installed near the tracks and stations to zero in on the culprits,” Shaikh said, adding that an FIR has been registered against an unknown person under relevant sections of the IPC.