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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.

From suspension to defection

Eighteen days after the results, Ambernath politics takes a dramatic turn as Congress corporators flood into BJP

Ambernath: Amid growing buzz around municipal elections in Maharashtra, the Congress party has suffered a major political blow in Ambernath. As many as 11 Congress corporators have quit the party and formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) within 24 hours of being suspended, dramatically altering the power balance in the Ambernath Municipal Council. The development has not only weakened Congress but has also dealt a significant setback to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction.

 

The crisis began after Congress suspended 12 corporators for aligning with the BJP during the formation of power in the municipal council. However, since the corporators were suspended and not disqualified, their corporator status remained intact, legally freeing them to join another party. Taking advantage of this, 11 suspended corporators crossed over to the BJP, leaving Congress in a political bind described by party insiders as a case of “losing both oil and ghee.”

 

The situation within the Congress organisation in Ambernath has further deteriorated. Party sources say there is no one left to even occupy the Congress office, and discussions are underway about sending a lock from Mumbai to secure it. Ironically, the party office itself is reportedly under the control of former Taluka Congress President Pradeep Patil, who was earlier suspended for campaigning for Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) candidate Shrikant Shinde during the Lok Sabha elections. Patil was suspended at the time by then state Congress president Nana Patole.

 

Power Struggle

In the Ambernath Municipal Council, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena has 27 corporators, BJP has 14, Congress 12, and the Nationalist Congress Party 4. Despite being the single largest party, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) fell short of a majority. BJP capitalised on this situation by aligning with Congress corporators and the NCP to reach the majority mark, a move that triggered widespread discussion across the state and country due to the unusual BJP–Congress alignment.


Congress’s disciplinary action against its corporators ultimately worked in BJP’s favour and against the Shinde Sena. Following the defection of the 11 corporators, BJP’s strength in the municipal council has increased significantly, while the Shinde Sena has been pushed further away from power despite having the highest number of elected members.

 

This political churn is being viewed as a warning signal for Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) leadership. Ambernath is represented by MLA Dr. Balaji Kinikar, while Shrikant Shinde, son of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, is the local Member of Parliament. With party control firmly in their hands, the BJP’s successful induction of Congress corporators facilitated by state BJP president Ravindra Chavan is being seen as a strategic challenge to the Shinde camp.

 

Intensifying Rivalry

BJP’s aggressive organisational expansion in Badlapur, Ambernath, and Kalyan-Dombivli has intensified tensions between BJP and the Shinde Sena. The rivalry between MP Shrikant Shinde and BJP state president Ravindra Chavan has now become increasingly open, peaking in December with both sides engaging in aggressive political poaching of former corporators and office-bearers.

 

List of Congress corporators who joined BJP

1. Pradeep Nana Patil

2. Darshana Umesh Patil

3. Archana Charan Patil

4. Harshada Pankaj Patil

5. Tejaswini Milind Patil

6. Vipul Pradeep Patil

7. Manish Mhatre

8. Dhanlakshmi Jayashankar

9. Sanjavani Rahul Devde

10. Dinesh Gaikwad

11. Kiran Badrinath Rathod


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