top of page

By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Mumbai local train murder stuns commuters

Mumbai: A routine commute to home on a dark rain-soaked night in a Mumbai local turned into a nightmare when a 22-year-old commuter was allegedly stabbed to death inside a first-class compartment following a heated argument over shutting the train door, late on Tuesday. The victim, identified as Mayank Lohar, 22, worked as a salesman with a private company in Andheri and lived in Virar, nearly 60 km from Churchgate. According to Western Railway (WR) and Government Railway Police (GRP)...

Mumbai local train murder stuns commuters

Mumbai: A routine commute to home on a dark rain-soaked night in a Mumbai local turned into a nightmare when a 22-year-old commuter was allegedly stabbed to death inside a first-class compartment following a heated argument over shutting the train door, late on Tuesday. The victim, identified as Mayank Lohar, 22, worked as a salesman with a private company in Andheri and lived in Virar, nearly 60 km from Churchgate. According to Western Railway (WR) and Government Railway Police (GRP) officials, the shocking incident took place aboard the Churchgate-Nalasopara Fast Local (Train No. 90663), which left Churchgate at 10.05 pm and reached Andheri at 10.42 pm. As the train pulled out of Andheri, heavy rains started lashing the city. Lohar reportedly requested a fellow commuter standing near the doorway to shut the door, as rainwater was blowing into the compartment and inconveniencing those seated inside. The other commuter, wearing a dark shirt and trousers, allegedly refused and it started a heated verbal exchange which quickly escalated into a raging argument as the train raced through Goregaon and Malad. Then, in a horrifying burst of violence, the suspect allegedly pulled out a knife and repeatedly stabbed Lohar in the abdomen and chest as the train zoomed past Kandivali. Stunned Silence The other terrified commuters watched in stunned silence as the attack unfolded and ended within a matter of minutes claiming the young boy. Writhing in pain and bleeding profusely, Lohar collapsed onto the compartment floor as panic gripped the passengers and they scrambled away from the attacker, who reportedly continued to pace about menacingly. Eyewitnesses later said that as the train slowed while entering Borivali station’s Platform No. 6, the suspect calmly jumped off, ran up the staircase and vanished into the wet darkness. When the train halted at Borivali at 11.04 pm, the other commuters immediately alerted railway authorities. WR, GRP and medical personnel rushed to the platform within minutes with emergency equipment, medicos, porters and a stretcher. Lohar was first rushed to the station’s Emergency Medical Room, where a doctor examined him and declared him dead. His body was later shifted to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali for post-mortem and other legal formalities. Special Teams The brutal killing sent shockwaves across Mumbai’s suburban rail network. In the morning, Borivali GRP Senior Police Inspector Datta Khuperkar said seven special teams were formed and nearly 400 CCTV camera feeds were scrutinised to trace the suspect. The attacker was captured on multiple surveillance cameras, cool and casual, without a hint of remorse, walking out of Borivali station after the attack. Following an intensive 14-hour manhunt, he was tracked down and arrested at Panvel in Raigad. The Borivali GRP has registered a murder case and launched a detailed investigation. As news of the shocking crime spread amid Wednesday’s torrential rains, commuters expressed outrage and disbelief that a trivial dispute over closing a train door could culminate in such a savage killing. Pall of gloom in Virar Early Wednesday morning, the Lohar family of Virar was devastated on learning about the horrifying killing of their favourite child, Mayank in a train altercation. His parents, three brothers and a sister could barely speak, with his wailing mother demanding “he must be hanged”. Consoling each other, one sister lamented how he was a quiet boy, rarely stepped out of the house without any reason and had his entire life before him that was snuffed out. Venting their ire, they asked “where was the police, why the other commuters didn’t help him” and warned that today it was their son, “next it can be anybody’s son”. The massive dragnet Barely hours after the brutal killing of Mayank Lohar, the Borivali GRP launched one of the biggest manhunts to track and apprehend the suspected killer from Panvel in Raigad district. He was later identified as one Roshan Suvarna, 30, of Mira Road, running a barcode business, informed Borivali GRP Senior Police Inspector Datta Khuperkar. “We formed seven teams with around 10 police personnel supervised by 15 officers. They scanned footage from over 400 CCTVs to trace the regular movements of the accused. The GRP stations of Borivali, Andheri, Mira Road and Nalasopara were involved in the search. We deployed tech-intel to scour his mobile and with help of our network of informers, finally caught him in Panvel,” a weary but victorious Khuperkar told ‘The Perfect Voice’. He added that after completing the legal and medical formalities, he will be produced before a Borivali Court for remand.

Architect of ‘Latur Pattern’

Dr Janardan Waghmare
Dr Janardan Waghmare

With the passing of Dr Janardan Waghmare on Monday (2 March) at the age of 91, Maharashtra has lost one of its brightest intellectuals. The architect of the famed ‘Latur Pattern’, Dr Waghmare was an eminent thinker, educationist, author and critic. Besides being the founder Vice-Chancellor of Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University in Nanded, Dr Waghmare was a former Member of Parliament, the only directly elected President of Latur Municipal Council, a lifelong member of Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan, and a member of Nanded Education Society (established by Swami Ramanand Teerth). Dr Waghmare passed away after a brief illness.


With his death, Marathi intellectual and literary discourse has lost a radiant beacon. Dr Waghmare’s life was a testament to the saying that education lends fulfilment to life and nobility to character. His was a life enriched by relentless reading, reflection, scholarship, teaching, authorship, philosophical inquiry and critical thought.


Early life and education

Born on 11 November 1934 in Janwal village in Chakur Taluka in Latur District, Dr Janardan Waghmare grew up in modest surroundings. His father, Madhavrao Waghmare, was a farmer and ensured that young Janardan received education at home by appointing a private tutor. He later joined the government school in Latur, where he studied alongside Shivraj Patil, the man who later in life was to become Union Home Minister. Their friendship lasted decades.


Waghmare completed matriculation from Marwadi Rajasthan Vidyalaya at a time when Urdu was the medium of instruction. Collegiate education took him to Hyderabad. He bagged first prize in the All-India Hindi Elocution Competition while at Nizam College in 1955. His achievement was personally acknowledged by then President Rajendra Prasad, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Defence Minister V K Krishna Menon.


He earned a BA from Osmania University.


He then pursued a Master’s in English Language and Literature in 1959 from Pune University (now Savitribai Phule Pune University).


Career, further studies, personal life

After his Master’s, Waghmare worked as a teacher at Shivchhatrapati College in Omerga and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar College in Aurangabad (now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar). He pursued an LLB degree.


Raised with Arya Samaj values, Waghmare married Sulochana, daughter of Manikrao Arya (Jadhav). It was an inter-caste marriage, a progressive step at the time.


He completed his MA in English Language and Literature in 1959 from Pune University (now Savitribai Phule University, Pune), and soon began his teaching career. After serving at Shivchhatrapati College in Omerga and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar College in Aurangabad (Chh Sambhajinagar), he also pursued an LLB degree.


He took on a transformative responsibility in 1970 and became the first Principal of Rajarshi Shahu College, which was founded to educate students from marginalised communities. Under his visionary leadership, the college rose to prominence as a centre of academic excellence and social transformation.


The Latur Pattern

It was during his tenure that the famed ‘Latur Pattern’, a rigorous, disciplined, results-oriented approach to education, took shape and gained nationwide recognition.


In his 25 years of work as Principal (1970–1994), he shaped the careers of thousands of students.


Literary work

He served as Principal for 25 years (1970–1994), shaping thousands of students who went on to distinguished careers in India and abroad. Dr Waghmare was equally distinguished in literature. His first book, American Negro: Literature and Culture (1978), was widely acclaimed, even drawing praise from celebrated writer P L Deshpande in Maharashtra Times. Over his lifetime, he authored 75 books, including works in English and Hindi, covering politics, society, philosophy, autobiography (A Handful of Soil), and biographies such as Sharad Pawar: Personality, Leadership and Achievement.


Many of his works received prestigious awards. His writing and activism reflected deep engagement with India’s Dalit movement, and he also enthralled audiences through Hindi poetry.

He became the founder Vice-Chancellor of Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University, Nanded. He laid a strong foundation and initiated several significant reforms, including ‘caste-free village’, a model developed through National Sevagram initiatives.


Political life

His tenure as directly elected President of Latur Municipal Council in 2001 was marked by a firm anti-corruption stance and transparency. The council won first prize in the Maharashtra Sant Gadge Baba Urban Cleanliness Campaign.


Sharad Pawar nominated Dr Waghmare to the Rajya Sabha, an honour befitting his stature.


As a Member of Parliament, he served on key committees, including Human Resource Development and Defence.


In 2009, he was part of the Indian parliamentary delegation to the United Nations, where he addressed representatives from 150 nations on global peace, earning admiration for his eloquence.


Dr Waghmare received numerous state and national honours, including the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Dalit Mitra Award (1994) from the Government of Maharashtra.


He presided over multiple major Marathi literary meets, including the 38th Marathwada Literary Meet in 2016, and chaired the International Hindi Literary Seminar organised by Sant Kabir Pratishthan in 2017.


(The writer is a journalist based in Latur.)

 

Comments

bottom of page