Tugged by robber, man falls off train, dies after three-day battle in hospital

Kumar, a welder, lived with his relatives in Dhankot village of Gurugram, while his parents stayed in Nawada in Bihar. He had been engaged in November and was to be married on May 18, said his uncle Tulsi Ravidas who was witness to the crime.

A 20-year-old man who was to be married next month, first lost his leg and then his life after being pulled down from a moving train by a mobile phone snatcher in west Delhi’s Mayapuri on Friday night, police said.

Relatives of Roshan Kumar, the victim, said he was speaking to his fiancée at the door of the passenger train when the snatcher struck. (HT Photo)

Relatives of Roshan Kumar, the victim, said he was speaking to his fiancée at the door of the passenger train when the snatcher struck.

Dinesh Kumar Gupta, deputy commissioner of police (Railways), said that Kumar lost his right leg when he fell, and died on Monday night of the multiple other injuries he had suffered in the incident.

“Before his death, Kumar and his uncle had told us that they could identify the snatcher. We showed them many photographs of local criminals, but we haven’t been able to make a breakthrough yet,” said the DCP, adding that the section pertaining to culpable homicide not amounting to murder was being added to the first information report.

Kumar, a welder, lived with his relatives in Dhankot village of Gurugram, while his parents stayed in Nawada in Bihar. He had been engaged in November and was to be married on May 18, said his uncle Tulsi Ravidas who was witness to the crime.

The train had passed the Delhi Cantonment railway station and was passing through Mayapuri Phase 1 when the snatcher struck at around 10.45 pm.

“There were five to six men standing outside the train. Roshan had barely spoken to his fiancée for two minutes when one of the men suddenly climbed the train, snatched at his mobile phone. While the man tried to escape by getting off the train, Roshan too was pulled down with him and fell under the train,” said Ravidas.

Ravidas and others pulled the emergency chain of the train and brought it to a stop. “The train stopped nearly a kilometre later. Roshan had suffered injuries to his head and lower body, but was conscious,” said another of Roshan’s uncles Rupesh.

The victim’s mobile phone was gone and his wallet containing ₹8,000 too was missing, said an investigator.

Rupesh alleged that onlookers had gathered, but no one helped the victim for almost 10 minutes after the fall. “One man was kind enough to pick the severed leg and hand it over to us in a polythene cover,” said Rupesh.The family took him in an e-rickshaw to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital where he was admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU). He died at around 11 pm on Monday.