Maharashtra: Nine die on tracks in Palghar in September

Representational images

In less than a month, nine people lost their lives on the tracks between the Kelve Road and Dahanu Road railway stations in Palghar district.

The police stated that most of the deaths can be attributed to suicide while others are suspected to have occurred while the deceased had been crossing the tracks.

The deceased have been identified as Gangakumar Mandal, 45; Kashinath Khache, 56; Umashankar Chauhan, 28; Umesh Das, 55; Aditya Sharma 29; Shailendra Pratap 27; Aisha Khan, 64; Surendra Thakre, 32; and Manish Rodriks, 38.

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The deaths were reported between September 3 and 23, the police said.

Detailed investigations were carried out by the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) in these cases. Five deaths occurred on the tracks near Boisar railway station while two people died at Kelve Road, one near Vangaon, and one near Dahanu Road station.

An official said, "People in a hurry to catch the train avoid using the foot overbridge. Due to continuous awareness campaigns, there has been a reduction in such accidents."

Senior Police Inspector Naresh Randhir of the Palghar GRP said, "In the past, we noticed that there has been an increase in suicide cases. People choose unmanned tracks and most of the accidents happen at those places."

He added, "Police patrolling mostly takes place at spots where there is a crowd. People choose deserted places to end their lives."