Mumbai: On November 21, at 8.35 pm, a shocking incident came to light when a 15-foot and an inch iron pipe was found on a railway track between Khar and Santacruz Railway Stations. The motorman discovered it after a local train hit the pipe. He immediately stopped the train and informed the station master.

Subsequently, the Railway Protection Force (RPF), station master, and railway police arrived at the scene and seized the iron pipe. The Bandra Railway Police traced the accused and arrested him on November 23. The accused was identified as Abdul Kadir Samatbrez Shaikh, 20, a resident of a slum in Khar West.

Statement Of A Police Officer

A police officer stated, "Shaikh is addicted to drugs, and his motive was to make money by selling the rod. On the night of November 21, he took the iron pipe from scrap. Someone might have scolded him, so he dropped the rod on the track and ran away. We tracked him with the help of CCTV footage."

A Goregaon-CSTM slow-up harbour line local train (No. 90850) was travelling between Santacruz and Khar Road railway stations when it encountered the iron pipe near kilometre markers 16/7 and 16/8. Motorman Yogesh Kumar removed the pipe from the track, informed Churchgate control, and resumed the journey around 8.39 pm.

Station Master Vishvendra Khandelwal, along with the RPF and railway police, arrived at the scene. They found a 15-foot-long iron pipe, with an inch diameter, lying parallel to the tracks between the up and down lines. One side of the pipe was bent. The authorities searched the nearby area for any suspicious individuals but did not find anyone.

Complaint Filed

On November 22, Sub-Inspector Sapna Sharma of the RPF filed a complaint. The Bandra Railway Police registered an FIR against an unidentified individual under Section 152 (maliciously hurting or attempting to hurt people travelling by railway) of the Railway Act, along with Sections 125(a) (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), and 329(3) (criminal trespass and house-trespass) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The FIR stated that she informed the Khar Road Railway Station Master both in writing and repeatedly over the phone about filing the complaint. However, a lack of coordination between the station master and the RPF led to delays in filing the complaint with the railway police.

Vinit Abhishek, Chief Public Relations Officer, stated, "An FIR has been registered, and further investigation is ongoing. There was no harm to any passenger."