Woman tries to stop thief, falls off train

A 35-year-old woman died after falling off a moving local train between Kalwa and Mumbra stations when a 31-year-old man tried to snatch her mobile phone on Sunday evening

A 35-year-old woman died after falling off a moving local train between Kalwa and Mumbra stations when a 31-year-old man tried to snatch her mobile phone on Sunday evening. The Government Railway Police (GRP) arrested the thief from Mumbra on Monday.

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The deceased, Vidya Patil, is a resident of Dombivli and had boarded the train from Kurla towards Dombivli around 7pm.

A GRP officer said, “Patil was sitting in a corner seat near the door. The accused, Faisal Shaikh, entered the compartment at 7.15pm at Kalwa station when the train started moving. He tried to snatch Patil’s phone and get off the train, but she resisted and held the accused. Shaikh, a habitual offender, got down despite the train gaining speed and pushed Patil when she tried to get off.”

Patil fell just when the platform ended and came under the train and died on the spot.

Other commuters pulled the emergency chain and the motorman informed the railway officials.

The GRP officer added, “We checked the CCTV footage and the accused was immediately identified as he was wanted in several other chain snatching incidents. A team of eight officers, after receiving information about his whereabouts, laid a trap and arrested him from Mumbra.”

A case has been registered against the accused and he has been remanded in police custody for five days.