29-year-old had been standing at the door of a local train when crook snatched her purse, causing her to fall off; as she ran behind him and stepped onto adjacent tracks, a CST-bound train knocked her down
Often one hears the story of a brave citizen risking her life and catching a thief who had tried to make away with her hard-earned money. Sadly, this was not the case for a Kalyan woman, who lost her life when a train knocked her down while she was chasing a thief who had snatched her purse.
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Police are waiting to record the statements of the two women who saw the thief rob Prajakta Gupta of her purse, causing her to fall down
According to the Dombivli Government Railway Police (GRP), the victim has been identified as 29-year-old Prajakta Gupta, who worked with Ascentrik Research Services, a private firm based in Mahape, Navi Mumbai. On Thursday, Gupta, a Kalyan resident, was on her way home from office, in a local train.
Dattatrey Pabal, senior police inspector, Dombivli GRP police, said, “After her work, Gupta was on her way back home. The train had stopped near Patri Pool (railway bridge) at Kalyan and she was standing at the door.” An unidentified accused allegedly snatched Gupta’s purse and, in the process, caused Gupta to fall out of the train.
“After getting up, she noticed that the accused was going to escape. Gupta decided to chase him down. However, she stepped onto the adjacent CST-bound tracks, and was knocked down by a train,” Pabal added. Police managed to recover Gupta’s ID card, but her purse, mobile phone, and other documents had been robbed.
Witnesses
Pabal added that they got a call about the fallen commuter around 9.30 pm, after which a team reached the spot. The victim was taken to Shastri Nagar General Hospital in Dombivli, where she was declared dead on admission. The family was informed based on the contact numbers provided on the ID card.
Assuming it to be another case of a commuter falling off, police first registered an accidental death report (ADR). As investigations began, police learnt that it was actually a robbery which also had witnesses. “During the course of investigations, we learnt that two women, who were travelling in the same compartment as the deceased, knew about the incident.
We then contacted them, and they confirmed the whole episode.” The cops then registered an FIR under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) of the Indian Penal Code. The Dombivli GRP are now waiting for the two women to come to the police station to give a detailed statement, which they hope will help them nab the culprit.