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By:

Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Deadly Commute

Mumbai has always taken pride in its local trains, which have been celebrated as the city’s lifeline. It has long been a democratic institution that carries millionaires and labourers alike, and a symbol of the resilience that Mumbaikars so often boast about. The brutal murder of a 22-year-old passenger inside a moving local has exposed a darker reality. The city’s most cherished public service is no longer merely overcrowded and uncomfortable but is becoming steadily unsafe. The victim,...

Deadly Commute

Mumbai has always taken pride in its local trains, which have been celebrated as the city’s lifeline. It has long been a democratic institution that carries millionaires and labourers alike, and a symbol of the resilience that Mumbaikars so often boast about. The brutal murder of a 22-year-old passenger inside a moving local has exposed a darker reality. The city’s most cherished public service is no longer merely overcrowded and uncomfortable but is becoming steadily unsafe. The victim, travelling in a first-class compartment of a Churchgate-Nallasopara fast local, became embroiled in an argument over whether the train door should be kept open during heavy rain. The disagreement escalated into fatal violence after the accused pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the abdomen. As blood pooled on the floor of the compartment, passengers merely stood there watched in horror. A video of the aftermath showed the alleged killer walking away with the weapon in hand without anybody stopping him. For years, a rough but effective social order prevailed in the Mumbai local train. While commuters may have jostled for space and exchanged harsh words, there remained an unwritten code of conduct for keeping outright criminality at bay. Mumbai’s trains have long been dangerous in one sense. Every year, hundreds die while crossing tracks, hanging from footboards or falling from overcrowded coaches. But passengers rarely feared being murdered inside the compartment itself. S Even more troubling was the reaction of those present. The footage suggests that dozens of passengers chose self-preservation over intervention. While few citizens would willingly confront an armed attacker, the images nonetheless reveal a growing atomisation of urban life. Millions travel together every day, but increasingly as strangers who feel no responsibility towards one another. Mumbai’s famed collective spirit has now become a slogan repeated only after disasters rather than a reality visible in everyday life. The authorities, too, have questions to answer. How did an individual carrying a knife manage to board and travel through one of the busiest suburban rail networks in the world? Why does visible security remain so sparse despite years of promises about surveillance, modernisation and passenger safety? The Railways have invested heavily in technology, announcements and infrastructure upgrades. Yet commuters continue to encounter inadequate policing and an absence of deterrence. The larger concern is cultural. Across India’s cities, there is evidence of rising public aggression. Minor disagreements increasingly escalate into violence. Road-rage incidents, neighbourhood disputes and social-media-fuelled confrontations frequently end in bloodshed. Patience, compromise and restraint appear to be in retreat. Mumbai likes to imagine itself as different from the rest of India. The local train murder suggests otherwise. A city is judged not by its skyline but by the safety of its ordinary spaces. When passengers can no longer assume that they will return home alive from a routine train journey, something fundamental has gone wrong.

"Justice will be delivered"

Updated: Mar 21, 2025

Disha

Mumbai: As the Disha Salian death case rocked the Maharashtra Assembly on Thursday, Nitesh Rane, Minister for Fisheries and Ports, who has been keenly following the case since June 2020, tells ‘The Perfect Voice’ that he has enough evidence to show that Disha was raped and murdered.


You’ve been speaking about this case since her death in June 2020. Who all do you think are involved?

June 8 and June 13 were related. To cover up what happened on June 8, June 13 occurred. I have been speaking about it since June 2020 because I know it wasn’t a suicide or accidental death but it was a murder. We have enough evidence to show that Disha Salian was raped and murdered.


What is the incriminating evidence that you have?

There are mobile tower records which show that Disha, Aditya Thackeray, and a Zomato delivery person’s phones were at the same location in Malad. The Zomato delivery person has also given his statement in this regard.


How was an alleged murder brushed off as a suicide?

The post mortem report was modified and tampered with. I have the original post mortem report which I procured from the municipal hospital where the post mortem was done. But these original reports were never made public. It shows that Disha was gang raped and murdered because the report shows injury marks around her private parts. There are many loopholes in their theory- if someone falls from the 14th floor, there are bound to be injuries on the face but the photographs we saw yesterday show no marks on her face. The post mortem reports that were released say that there were injuries on her face but look at the recent photos. Where are the marks? How is that even possible?


You have made a connection between Aditya Thackeray, Dino Morea and Sooraj Pancholi. What is the connection?

They are all friends who were partying during the Covid lockdown when everyone was staying home.


Most people are questioning the timing of Disha Salian’s father’s petition in the court. Why now after almost five years?

Her father stated that he was until now brainwashed into believing it was a suicide. But now he wants justice for his deceased daughter. Why question the timing? A father wants justice so he has approached the High Court. The police will act on court orders. It will come up for hearing on the High Court on Monday or Tuesday next week. Our assembly colleagues have come together to say that we should follow the Supreme Court’s judgement—that if a person is accused of rape, he should first be arrested. In the Assembly, we have only made this demand that the Supreme Court’s judgement should be followed.


“The original post mortem report states that Disha Salian was gangraped and murdered.”


“We have to protect our sisters in this state.”


“Our demand is that the Supreme Court judgement should be followed and a rape accused must first be arrested.”

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