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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.

Ayushman Bharat: A Lifeline or a Lost Cause?

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

Ayushman Bharat

Ayushman Bharat was launched in 2018 as a flagship insurance scheme by the Modi government designed to provide annual insurance coverage of five lakh rupees per family for those hailing from the most economically deprived sections of society. This comprehensive insurance scheme aims to protect the poorest of the poor from falling into catastrophic debt, which can occur due to the inability to afford necessary medical expenses, such as doctors' fees, hospital bills, treatment costs, and surgical operations. By addressing these financial barriers, Ayushman Bharat seeks to ensure that vulnerable families can access essential healthcare services without the fear of overwhelming financial burdens.


However, six years after its inception, the Ayushman Bharat scheme seems to have somewhat derailed, primarily due to a variety of reasons. To begin with, in Maharashtra, the government has empanelled a significantly higher number of private hospitals compared to government hospitals for Ayushman Bharat-related treatments. The stark reality is that private hospitals often show a marked disinterest in providing health care to economically deprived sections of our population, as their operations are fundamentally driven by profit motives. In an article published by The Scroll, many private hospitals have reported that since 2021, they have faced considerable delays in the processing of claims, along with numerous rejections and deductions in payments. Despite the government's substantial budget allocations for Ayushman Bharat, actual spending remains disappointingly low. For clarification, in the 2022-23 fiscal year, the budget allocation for the scheme was `6,412 crores; however, during the first nine months of 2022, the government released only 18% of these allocated funds. This discrepancy raises significant concerns about the scheme's effectiveness in delivering necessary healthcare to those in need.


Keeping these facts in perspective, it would make far more sense to increase the number of government-empanelled hospitals across various states and significantly improve their overall quality. As highlighted in a recent article in Economic and Political Weekly, many government hospitals in Maharashtra face challenges due to inadequate health infrastructure and poor maintenance of diagnostic equipment, resulting in a notable mismatch between demand and supply. Even more concerning, a poorly organised and corrupt system leaves the public health system in the state consistently lacking essential medications. Consequently, these public health facilities often resort to providing private prescriptions, which leads to enormous out-of-pocket expenses for patients. This unfortunate state of affairs has a devastating impact on the economically disadvantaged, further exacerbating their struggles and hardships in accessing necessary healthcare services.


Ayushman Bharat, while a significant initiative, does not extend its coverage to outpatient treatment, and it notably does not provide reimbursement for critical diagnostic tests such as CT scans and MRI scans. This limitation raises concerns about the comprehensiveness of the healthcare services offered under the scheme.


Additionally, a troubling aspect of the healthcare landscape in Maharashtra is the persistent shortage of medical professionals. Each year, approximately 7,000 medical graduates enter the workforce; however, data from the Public Health Department highlights that a staggering 14% of medical officer positions remain unfilled. Even more alarming is the vacancy rate for district health officers, which stands at 64%, while 54% of civil surgeon posts are unoccupied. Furthermore, the situation for specialists is dire, with a vacancy rate of 81%.


All these factors have to be considered when the overall effectiveness of the scheme is determined. The deprived, especially the most economically deprived sections of our society, cannot but be adversely affected by these conditions.


(The author is a private researcher. Views personal.)

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