‘Regret’ follows man’s failed ‘suicide pact’

When a man and a 12-year-old girl jumped before a moving train in an alleged suicide pact in Narela on Monday evening, the man was sure he would be dead within seconds. But when he regained consciousness a few hours later at a hospital, he was left regretting his decision.

Now, the 22-year-old man has not only lost both his legs, he is also staring at the possibility of being booked for abduction and rape. In his own words, he was “in love” with the 12-year-old minor girl for the last two years. The girl, who sustained multiple fractures, told a news channel that it was he who urged her to end their lives.

“If it was indeed the man who convinced the minor girl to accompany him to end their lives, we will probe the possibility of booking him for kidnapping,” said an investigator, adding it will also be probed if the man had sexually abused the girl. If established, he could end up getting booked for rape and under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the officer said.

Recounting the events just before he and the girl made the jump, the man claimed that the girl had compelled him to end their lives together. “She threatened to jump from the terrace if I did not accompany her in the suicide bid,” he alleged.

There was no one to physically stop them. “The girl’s sister was in the local market. Her mother was on the terrace and urged her to stop, but she did not listen,” the man said. They walked for a few minutes to reach the railway tracks and jumped before a train.

“I was not afraid before jumping. I thought we would die immediately. I wish I had died. There is no point living without my legs,” said the Bihar native who worked at a utensil-manufacturing unit in Narela.

He said that he and the girl were lying in the middle of the tracks seconds before the train arrived. “My long legs were on the track, so they got chopped from the knee,” said the man. By the time the train passed over them, the man was also injured in his head while the girl sustained multiple fractures.

When the police were informed by some locals, they arrived at the spot to find the two lying unconscious on the tracks. “When they regained consciousness, they first said they were siblings. But when we asked again, they said they were in love and were attempting suicide,” said a policeman.

The two were taken to Raja Harishchandra Hospital in Narela before being referred to Lok Nayak Hospital. The duo is expected to survive.

Initially believing it to be an accident, the police are now questioning the man.