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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.

When Mumbai tried to relocate stray dogs

Mumbai: The Supreme Court's judgement of shunting the stray dogs out Delhi-NCR limits has brought back memories of a similar initiative tried by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2007-08 of moving the stray dogs out of Mumbai and shifting them to dedicated dog shelters.


The brainchild of the then Mumbai Deputy Mayor Vidya Thakur who is currently legislator from the Goregaon assembly constituency, the proposal stressed on 'Stray Dogs Free Mumbai'.


Faced with an increasing number of dog bites cases, Thakur had mooted a proposal and written to the then state Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh asking for 50 acres of land in the Vasai-Virar belt out- side the city limits.


"I was getting lots of dog bites complaints and also people dying of rabies. Hence, I worked out an idea where strays can be shifted out and housed in dedicated shelters. This would have ensured both human beings and strays living in harmony," said Thakur.


There were an estimated 45,000 dog bites which took place in 2006 of which 21 people had died in Mumbai.


"We had identified the location and had begun talks with the villagers to take them into confidence on this project. We even begun talks with the state government. However, the proposal then fizzled out after I left my chair," she added.


The apex court on Monday ordered authorities across Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) to round up all stray dogs within eight weeks, house them in dedicated dog shelters and ensure none are released back onto the streets.


However, animal activists are shocked and call the whole order as shocking. “Dogs are terrestrial animals and it will be disastrous if they are moved to some other places,” said an activist who declined to come on record.


“This whole issue will be a logistical nightmare. First the authorities have to get the land and create infrastructure suitable for the strays. After that, the authorities have to ensure feeding and medical facilities. This is a mammoth task and in no way completed in a month,” said another animal activist.


For decades, the BMC had been rounding the stray dogs and killing them. However, this stopped in 1994 after the animal activists moved the Bombay High Court who ordered the BMC to sterilise these strays and control their population. The BMC claimed in its survey that over the last 29 years, 4.30 lakh stray dogs have been sterilised. This has resulted in reduction in the stray dogs' population to 90,757 from 95,172 in the last decade.

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