The Human Cost Of Overcrowding: Stories Of Mumbra Train Tragedy Victims Who Never Made It Home

In a tragic incident on Monday morning, four commuters, including a Government Railway Police (GRP) officer, died and nine others were injured after falling from a moving fast local train near Mumbra railway station in Thane. The train was en route from Kasara to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT).

Tushar Bhagat (22) left for work at around 8:15 AM in Thane. He works as a data entry operator in Thane and lives with his parents, brother, and sister in Balyani village in Titwala. Laxmi Bhagat, Tushar's mother, stated that she was informed by a co-passenger that he had met with a train accident. She alerted her family members and reached Kalwa Hospital, where her son was in the ICU and receiving treatment. Laxmi further stated that her son had joined the job about a year ago and is the breadwinner of the family.

Machindra Gotarane, who was injured, has been admitted to Kalwa Hospital in the ICU where his treatment is ongoing. Gotarane, who has worked with a company in Turbhe as housekeeping staff for the last five years, lives with his wife Kunda and their son and two daughters. One of his daughters, Kalpana Machindra Gotarane, recently passed her HSC with a secured 65 percent, and the family was very happy. Kishor Partole, Gotarane's brother-in-law, stated that his family received a call from one of the passengers about his accident. After that, they promptly rushed to Kalwa Hospital. He used to leave the house for work at 6:45 AM from Vashind, heading to Titwala and boarding the train.

Manish Saroj, a labourer, lived with his wife in Diva. Saroj and his friend Shailesh Jaiswal used to go to work together. Shailesh Jaiswal told the FPJ that he boarded another train while Saroj boarded the Kasara local fast train. Saroj informed me on the phone that he had accident when he reached Ghatkopar. Thereafter, I promptly went back to Kalwa, and he narrated the incident that he was on the footboard and, due to pressure of the crowd, leaned out and collided with another train that was passing, resulting in his fingers being injured.

Sneha Dhondhe (21), who works in a call center in Navi Mumbai, was alerted by co-passengers, according to her friend Nainil Kamble. She was about to alight in Thane and later intended to go to the office. She suffered head and body injuries and was admitted to the ICU room in kalwa hospital.

The Deceased in the tragedy

A 44-year-old IT engineer, Mayur Shah, who was a bachelor, lived with his mother in Thane’s Ghodbunder and worked in Mumbai. His father had passed away earlier. Mayur is survived by his mother and married sisters. Santosh Doshi, Shah’s brother-in-law, stated that it is possible Mayur went to Dombivli to look for a flat before heading to his office in Ghatkopar. He had been negotiating with the flat owner for a few months. “I was alerted by the police about the tragedy and then informed the rest of the family. We immediately rushed to the spot,” Doshi said. The police are recording statements from the family and have collected documents for identification.

A 23-year-old man, Ketan Dilip Saroj, who had joined a call center just three months ago, died after boarding the Kasara local train from Shahad railway station. The incident occurred near Mumbra.

Eyewitness Deepak Shirsath told Ketan’s uncle, Ravi, that on the CSMT to Karjat local train, some passengers had their bags hanging outside while standing on the footboard. Because of these bags, one by one, passengers of the Kasara local fell off. Ketan, who was standing at the door, suddenly fell. Although other passengers immediately pulled the emergency chain, the train did not stop and only came to a halt at Thane.

Ravi told FPJ that Deepak had informed them about the accident immediately. “Why didn’t the train stop despite passengers pulling the chain?” he asked angrily. “We demand a fair investigation. We lost our nephew in this incident.”

A 27-year-old man, Rahul Gupta, who lived with his parents, a brother, and two sisters in Diva, died on his way to work at CST. He worked as a delivery boy in a stationery shop and had boarded a Kasara-bound local train from Diva.

Rammilan Gupta, a relative of Rahul, told FPJ that the Kasara local fast train had not arrived on time. “The crowd kept building up due to the delay at Diva station, and the incident happened because of this overcrowding,” he said. “If the trains were punctual, the crowd wouldn’t have surged to such dangerous levels.”

According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred near a curve between Mumbra and Diva stations. Due to excessive overcrowding in the train, several passengers standing near the doors were pushed out as the train turned. Some of them collided with another passing local train and fell onto the tracks.

Railway authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.