The Government Railway Police’s crime branch tracked down the couple, Avinash Mane (31) and Sheetal Mane (30), and arrested them a day later. They were charged with ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’.
The police team later checked CCTV footage from the station’s platform number 1. The cameras had captured Rathod walking on the platform and standing close to the area where the ladies compartment is marked. A few minutes later, he is seen accidentally brushing against a woman who started to hit him with her umbrella. Her husband, who was standing some distance away, intervened even as the argument continued.
Couple fled after man’s death on tracks, booked
The man hit Rathod in his face. The blow was so hard that Rathod ended up losing his balance and landed on the tracks. A train was coming in his direction and Rathod quickly got up to climb back on the platform. But before he could, the train ran him over,” said a police officer. He suffered multiple injuries in the incident. They were booked for ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’. Rathod lived in Ghansoli and worked as a BEST bus conductor. On August 13, the GRP received information that he had been run over by a Down slow local on platform number 1 of Sion station at 9.12 pm and had suffered grievous injuries.
A team of policemen rushed Rathod to Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital at Sion. He succumbed to his injuries around 2.15 am on August 14. His body was handed over to his younger brother Vikram, 19, who lived with him. The autopsy report mentioned the cause of death as ‘haemorrhagic shock with pneumothorax following blunt trauma to chest and abdomen.’
Police said the couple fled after the incident and were tracked down on August 15 by the crime branch which had registered a First Information Report. The police said Avinash works as a housekeeping contractor while Sheetal is a homemaker. The couple resides in Mankhurd. “Avinash was aware that a blow would cause Rathod to fall on the tracks, get run over by a train and lose his life. We have requested for three days remand in police custody for recovering Sheetal’s umbrella which is key evidence in the case,” said the police remand application submitted in court.
