Old cases from the deadly stretch

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

Widow recalls husband dying the same way last year
A 40-year-old cloth shop worker, Kewoor Salve, fell from an overcrowded train on June 6, 2024, in the same deadly stretch between Mumbra and Diva. His wife, Prachi, and their 12-year-old daughter have been struggling to make ends meet ever since. A homemaker until her husband's sudden death, Prachi was forced overnight into the role of the sole breadwinner. From paying rent and electricity bills to ensuring her daughter's admission to school, she carries the full weight of the household on her shoulders. She said she couldn't sleep the night after hearing Monday's accident as it reopened the trauma she has learned to live with every day. 'I was unheard back then,' Prachi said.
'Poor people like us who travel and struggle for even basic needs are always treated like garbage. My husband died the same way a year ago—and nothing changed. No authority took action despite several deaths on this same route. Why? Were they sleeping all this time? Is it because no one from their families has died?'
Not careless but neglected commuters
In the aftermath of the Mumbra train tragedy that killed four on Monday, Deepak Dubey recalls his younger brother Avadhesh Rajesh Dubey who died in a strikingly similar accident on April 23, 2024, at the very same location. Avadhesh, a 25-year-old MBA student at IIT Patna, worked in the healthcare IT sector. On the morning of April 23, 2024, he was commuting to work when he fell out of an overcrowded local train.
His brother Deepak called it a direct consequence of lax safety measures. He added that systemic indifference has been plaguing Mumbai's suburban rail system for years. In a deeply emotional and urgent public appeal following Monday's incident, he said, 'These were not careless passengers. They were ordinary citizens—commuters, students, workers—forced into unsafe conditions daily due to continued negligence and lack of reform by Indian Railways,' said Dubey.
So overcrowded that she could not get past the door
Two days after Avadesh's death, Riya Rajgor, a 26-year-old working professional who left her home for work on April 25, 2024, in an overcrowded train at Dombivli station, died similarly. Leena Kushwah, a friend she made on the train, often commuted together. Recalling the horrifying moment, Kushwah said, 'As the train was packed, she stood by the door. When the train sped up, the crowd inside swayed and pushed hard toward the door. Riya could not hold on, she slipped and was gone before we could react.'
'Riya wasn't just my friend—she was like family,' Kushwah said tearfully. She said Riya's parents are shattered as she was their only daughter. 'Riya was full of dreams, always smiling, and helping others. I still can't believe she's gone.'
Doors blocked, AC train stalled for 10 mins in Dombivli as passengers rush in
MUMBAI: Adding to commuter anxiety, chaos erupted at Dombivli railway station on Tuesday morning when the 8.59 am Mumbai-bound AC local train was delayed by nearly 10 minutes. The delay occurred as a crowd of passengers, unnerved by Monday's tragedy, rushed into the train and blocked its automatic doors from closing. The train could not proceed as some passengers remained stuck in the doorways.
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) intervened to escort a few passengers out of the train and help shut the doors. A confrontation broke out between commuters and railway staff, reflecting growing frustration over the lack of safe and sufficient services.
Passengers claimed the railway administration is shirking responsibility, blaming the public rather than improving frequency, platform crowd control, or train reliability. 'They keep blaming us for blocking the doors, but what choice do we have? There aren't enough trains and the ones that do come crammed. We're risking our lives to get to work,' said Rajesh Shinde, a daily commuter from Dombivli. 'Instead of fixing the system, they treat us like the problem.'