Mumbai: Ad agency employees hit by train were looking for phone

Investigations into the mysterious death of an ad agency employee and injuries sustained by his female colleague on the railway tracks have revealed that the duo were walking on the tracks trying to look for the woman's cellphone and the thieves who had stolen it. They were hit by a Churchgate-bound slow local, leading to the man's death.

mid-day had reported yesterday on the incident involving Jeremy Fernandes (25) and Niyanta Mirjankar (22), who were found on the tracks between Khar and Santacruz on Tuesday night. Fernandes, a Charni Road resident, and Mirjankar, a Bandra resident, were on their way home from their workplace in Goregaon. They were initially thought to have fallen from a running train. (Read story: Man dead, friend in hospital after duo falls from running train)

How it occurred
But, according to the Bandra GRP officials, the duo was standing near the door with their phones in hand. When the train had left Santacruz station and was halfway to Khar, two thieves hit the woman's hand with a rod, causing the cellphone to slip and fall onto the tracks. The two accused are believed to have picked up the fallen device and escaped.

The duo then alighted at Khar and walked back towards Santacruz on the railway tracks to try to trace the thieves and find the phone, estimated to be worth R30,000. However, they failed to notice an incoming Churchgate-bound slow local train and were mowed down by it. Fernandes died on the spot while Mirjankar sustained severe injuries.

Police later arrested the two accused, Ajay Waghri and Kolanji Krishna Vel, both Khar residents and in their twenties. A police officer said, "It was night and completely dark. When they were walking on the tracks, they could not understand which direction the train was coming from and at what speed.

Also, the tracks between Khar and Santacruz are curved, making it difficult to see an incoming train. They should've first informed the cops at Khar railway station, and, taking their help, should've gone near the railway tracks. A police officer from Bandra GRP said, "The local train's motorman, Ram Swarup Meena, gave us his statement that the duo had come in the way of his train and that his train had hit them.

The guard, too, gave a similar statement. The motorman informed the stationmaster at Khar, who then told the cops." API Anil Deole said, "The accused were arrested on Thursday and booked under Sections 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention). They will be produced in court today.