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.

Fiery BJP-Shiv Sena clashes rock politics

Fiery BJP-Shiv Sena clashes rock politics

Devendra Fadnavis Eknath Shinde
Devendra Fadnavis Eknath Shinde

Mumbai: Another episode of the cold war between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde was seen on Monday when the state legislature gathered for the day’s business. A visibly angry Shinde came down heavily on Satara Superintendent of Police Tushar Doshi for allegedly manhandling his trusted aide Shambhuraj Desai a few days ago. In a strongly worded statement he called the incident as “murder of democracy” leaving Fadnavis upset.


Doshi is known as a close confidant of the CM, who also holds the home portfolio.


A prompt action by Deputy Chairperson of the Legislative Council Neelam Gorhe also added to the fissures between ruling partners, the BJP and the Shiv Sena. Gorhe ordered suspension of Doshi with immediate effect based on Desai’s complaint made in the House. Jaykumar Gore, a BJP minister, was prompt to oppose the suspension. “Please revoke the SP’s suspension as it has been ordered without going into the fact finding,” he said.


The tussle was an aftermath of the bitterly fought election of Satara Zila Parishad president last week. The BJP had registered a surprise victory in a contest the Shiv Sena–NCP bloc expected to win. BJP candidate Pooja Shinde, wife of Shiv Sena MLA Mahesh Shinde, had emerged as winner in that election. Reports of cross voting and last minute defections altered the expected outcome. Shiv Sena leaders alleged that two councillors were stopped from voting after being detained by police while on their way to the ZP building.


Desai told the Legislative Council that was manhandled by police personnel in plain clothes as he tried to enter the ZP building before the said election. “I was beaten by the police when I was going into the ZP building. I was bleeding,” Desai said describing the incident as unprecedented in his four decades in politics.


The allegation prompted Gorhe to order the suspension of Doshi and to direct local authorities to preserve CCTV footage of the incident.


Judicial Probe

Shiv Sena and NCP leaders demanded a judicial probe and attacked the BJP led Home Department in the Council, accusing the administration of allowing the BJP to engineer the result. The party’s charge sheet included claims that BJP workers were allowed inside the ZP building while Sena members were blocked. Gorhe’s order escalated the matter into a full blown institutional confrontation.


The BJP pushed back, defending the police and urging that facts be ascertained before punitive action. Gore, the BJP minister who led the party’s campaign in Satara, said the police were responsible for maintaining law and order and that only ZP councillors should have been inside the building during the election. He warned against suspending an IPS officer without first obtaining factual reports and suggested that thousands of workers had entered the premises, complicating the security situation.


Split in Sena

What has made the episode particularly damaging for the Sena is the public split within its own ranks. Mahesh Shinde openly contradicted Desai and accused him of acting out of frustration after an alleged plan to realign locally with the Congress and NCP SP failed. Mahesh Shinde said the local Sena cadre had been prepared to remain with the Mahayuti alliance and rejected Desai’s purported designs. He alleged that some of the people accompanying Desai faced criminal charges, including kidnapping, and that a scuffle had followed a complaint lodged by the son of an alleged kidnap victim.


The confrontation echoes earlier intra party tensions that have simmered since the party’s split and the rise of Eknath Shinde as a dominant force in state politics.


Emotional Rift

CM Fadnavis said the matter would be investigated and that action would follow the findings. His assurance did little to calm the storm in the legislature, where Shiv Sena ministers staged protests and demanded stern action against police officers.


Opposition parties seized on the controversy to allege “Operation Lotus” tactics and to question the fairness of the election process.


Beyond the immediate disciplinary and legal questions, the Satara episode has revealed deeper strategic and emotional rifts within the ruling coalition.

Comments

bottom of page