Deadly train stunts continue in Mumbai; activists allege police apathy

As of June this year, more than 250 people have died on Central Railway

As the local train picks up speed, the boys get ready. Then, holding on to the doorway, they dangle one leg out so that it’s grazing the platform. It’s a bit of daredevilry for the boys, but it could cost them their lives and agencies like the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Government Railway Police (GRP) seem to be turning a blind eye to it, say activists.

Youngsters perform risky stunts from local trains in Mumbai. (HT Photo)

“The students do not realize how deadly these stunts could be and what will happen to their parents if they die in an accident during these stunt. I went to the Railway office on Dockyard Road railway station and informed them about it. They told me they cannot take any stern legal action on the kids as they are minors,” said Daulat Bi Khan. Khan runs non-governmental organisation, Acid Survivors Saahas Foundation, and in the last week of September, she spotted school kids performing dangerous stunts on fast-moving local trains.

Some of these are more acrobatic than others – leaps that suspend their bodies mid-air, slides that make it seem like their bodies are parallel to the platform. They are also captured on CCTV, but no action has been taken to stop them, alleged Khan. “Most of these kids are from schools in Dongri and Sandhurst Road area, and they perform stunts between noon to 1.30 pm on Sandhurst road, Reay Road, Dockyard Road, Cotton Green and Sewri, while returning home,” said a headmaster of a school, requesting anonymity.

As of June this year, more than 250 people have died on Central Railway, after falling off a running train.

Railway passenger activist Sameer Zaveri said that once automated doors are introduced in local trains, the children would be forced to stop their stunts, but until then, authorities needed to involve parents to ensure they don’t repeat these dangerous antics.

Central Railway’s senior divisional commissioner Sachin Bhalode said the RPF “is doing whatever it takes” and that there is an outreach program in which authorities stress the dangers of performing such stunts to college students. “We have been proactively taking measures to curb the practice of youngsters performing stunts in local trains. Few days ago, we caught some kids in Kurla and called their parents and informed them about it. To prevent kids from performing stunts, their parents have to be held accountable. If the juvenile court starts taking bonds signed from the parents pledging their kids will never perform such stunts, then the practice of stunts can be curbed effectively,” said Bhalode.

On Central Railway alone, 609 cases were registered against those performing stunts and ₹2.39 lakh has been collected as penalty between January and September this year.

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