Mumbai – Indradev Pandey
Thane rural superintendent of police has suspended three personnel, including a police sub-inspector (PSI), after a 25-year-old man allegedly ended his life in their custody. The deceased, who was accused of eloping with a 17-year-old, was being brought back with the minor from Delhi on Rajdhani Express. He reportedly jumped off the speeding train after smashing the toilet window.
Raising suspicions over the suicide theory, the deceased’s family sought an investigation. Holding the girl’s family responsible for the man’s death, they alleged that the Vashind police repeatedly harassed them after the elopement. Nilesh Jadhav, the man’s cousin, said that they were informed about the incident on August 28 at 10am, while it took place at 1am.
The suspended cops have been identified as PSI S Wangade, woman constable Chalwade and her peer Jogdande. The trio was attached to the Vashind police station in Bhiwandi. According to the police report, the man, who resided with his parents in the Padgha village, had a love affair with the teen from the Vashind village since 2023.
Planning to get married, they eloped in July, after which a kidnapping case was filed based on the complaint of the girl’s family. Vashind police station Senior Inspector Harshvardhan Barve said, “We got a breakthrough regarding the duo’s whereabouts in August. The team of the (now suspended) cops was dispatched to Delhi where they were residing.”
The incident on the night of August 28 when the train was running between the Morena and Gwalior stations, said the police. The man went to the toilet twice, but he didn’t return for long on the third instance, the cops added. They further said that when the team didn’get any response upon knocking, it contacted railway officials and the door was finally opened with a screwdriver.
However, they didn’t see the man inside, while the window was broken. Subsequently, the team contacted the Morena Government Railway Police (GRP) and retraced the 40 km route in a bid to find the man, who was finally spotted lying beside the track. The GRP took him to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. He had suffered serious multiple injuries to his body after jumping off from a moving train, said the police.
The team then alerted the seniors and also informed the man’s parents. A post-mortem was conducted at a Morena hospital and the body was later brought to Bhiwandi. In between, the Morena GRP lodged an accidental death report
