Mumbai banker slips to death, Borivli’s killer platform No. 7 strikes again

40-year-old Alka Pathare slipped from a crowded train and fell through the gap between the platform and the footboard.

A 40-year-old woman died after she slipped from a crowded train and fell through the gap between the platform and the footboard, at Borivli station on Thursday morning.

Commuters on the platform noticed the accident and alerted the GRP. (HT File Photo/Used for representational purpose)

According to the Government Railway Police (GRP), the victim was Alka Pathare, a resident of Nancy Colony in Borivli (East). Sanjay Patil, senior police inspector of Borivli GRP, said that since a few trains had been cancelled, the trains that were running were overcrowded on Thursday morning. At 9.26am, Pathare was seen on the platform, trying to board an overcrowded train.

“Pathare, who was running with the local train in an attempt to board it, had succeeded in grabbing the pole of the compartment. She, however, was dragged and slipped through the gap while attempting to get inside,” said Patil.

Other commuters on the platform noticed the accident and alerted the GRP.

The incident, which was captured on CCTV, took place on platform number 7, which has been the site of similar tragic accidents in the past (see box). Pathare had been boarding a Virar-Churchgate fast local train on her way to work. She worked for a nationalised bank in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC).

The GRP officers called for an ambulance and rushed Pathare to Shatabdi Hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival. The GRP officers have registered a case of accidental death and are investigating the incident further. “We have recorded the statements of Pathare’s family and have handed over the body,” said Patil. Pathare is survived by two sisters.

In the first six months this year, 1,051 persons lost their lives on Mumbai’s suburban railway network. Last year, 3,202 deaths had been reported within railway premises in the Mumbai region.