3 lives snuffed out due to Central Railway disruptions in Mumbai, allege kin; demand compensation

MUMBAI: Two men, distant-relatives-turned-friends, died after being hit by a train on the tracks between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli stations on Monday amid disruptions on Central Railway.Now, their relatives are left scouring paperwork and looking for any video evidence to challenge the official claim that the duo was illegally crossing railway tracks. Relatives said a stalled train might have caused Rahul Rajbhar (22) and Kharbhan Rajbhar (35) to alight and their kin should be compensated by the Railways.CR suburban services faced major disruption on Monday after a fire in the relay room near Kanjurmarg brought the signalling system to a halt. The disruption lasted around nine hours, with services continuing to run 30-40 minutes late until late in the evening even after operations were restored across the affected routes. Thousands of commuters were stranded in stationary trains for 70-90 minutes, while some walked along the tracks as services operated intermittently on adjoining lines.Although services were largely on time during Tuesday morning’s peak hours, some trains in the afternoon were delayed by 15-20 minutes, causing further inconvenience to commuters. CR is expected to conclude its inquiry into the cause of the Kanjurmarg fire on Wednesday.Rahul and Kharbhan came to the city from Uttar Pradesh about three years ago. Just like a dozen other family members, the two worked as stack parking welders.According to the police, both men appear to have boarded a train from the eastern suburbs after finishing work and were headed home to Thane. “There is a possibility that due to the CR disruptions, the two alighted from the train and were to exit the railway premises to travel home by road,” said a police officer. Around 7.55 pm, a Kalyan - CSMT local hit them between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli stations. “We will be recording the motorman’s statement and looking for witnesses,” the officer said.None of their relatives knew where Rahul and Kharbhan had boarded the train from on Monday or what exactly transpired. “Railway officials said the two were crossing the tracks. But because the train had halted for a long time, they must have decided to alight or it is possible that they fell off a train. The cause needs to be investigated,” said Prakash Rajbhar, a relative. He said the family is trying to collect all the paperwork related to the incident so that a claim for compensation can be filed.Another relative, Aniket Rajbhar, said Kharbhan leaves behind his widow and four children at their hometown. “We need to know what happened; at least show us the CCTV footage or relevant reports. Police just said a motorman alerted them about the bodies,” he said.Rahul’s distant aunt, who spoke to TOI at Rajawadi Hospital postmortem centre in Ghatkopar while waiting to collect the body, said the last time she had met him was when he was seven. Rahul was single.The relatives claimed their bodies on Tuesday evening and left for their hometown in a hearse. They will be covering a distance of over 1,600 km in 30 hours.In a separate incident, a college-goer, Sahil Thete (21), had died after being hit by a train at Bhandup station on Monday. His family alleged that the accident was a result of railway disruptions. “Sahil studied in the last year of B.Com. His parents sell flowers garlands and he would assist them. On Monday, he went to his coaching class at Thane. Typically, he would take a train to reach his Kanjurmarg residence after class. But on Monday, the railway timetable was a mess. Sahil could only alight at Bhandup. He was probably trying to exit the railway station when he was killed,” said Sagar, a neighbour.Police said Sahil was crossing from platform no. 4 to platform no. 2 on the tracks when a fast train hit him on platform no. 3 of Bhandup. “Sahil had a bright future ahead of him, but the railway disruption snuffed out his life. The Railways must offer one of his sisters a job so they can look after their parents,” said Sagar.The Kurla Government Railway Police have recorded separate cases of accidental deaths and are probing the sequence of events leading to the three fatalities.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Mumbai | Silver Rate in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai | Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Petrol Price in Mumbai | Diesel Price in Mumbai | CNG Price in Mumbai | LPG Price in MumbaiStay updated with the latest Mumbai news. Download the TOI App.