Man falls into platform gap, two others run over by train in Thane

THANE: Three people lost their lives at Thane and Mumbra stations on Monday morning in three separate accidents. Two were run over by a train while crossing the tracks and another fell while boarding a local, said the Thane government railway police (GRP).

The first incident took place around 7am when 59-year-old Ajit Anand Puranik, a resident of Kalwa, was standing on platform number 4 at Thane station to board a CSMT local.

“As it was the morning rush hour, there was a huge crowd of office-goers on the platform. Many passengers leap into the local train before it halts, as it is pulling into the platform, for a seat. Puranik was also trying to do that, but he lost his balance, went through the gap, fell on the tracks and got stuck under the moving train,” said a police officer from Thane GRP. Puranik’s family is in shock and refused to comment.

The other two died while crossing the tracks. Devidas Shinde, 60, a resident of Vitawa, was crossing the track around 1.30am on the trans-harbour line at Thane station when he was run over by a train.

Shinde’s family said he was drunk when he left the house. “He demanded more alcohol at night. I refused and he left home in a huff. We started calling our relatives to trace him. The police called us and told us that my father had met with an accident,” said Umesh, 30, Devidas’s son. Around 9.30am, a 35-year-old man was hit by a train while crossing the track near Parsik tunnel at Mumbra station. “We have not been able to identify the body,” said a police officer.

The police said all three incidents have been registered as accidental deaths.

59YEAROLD AJIT PURANIK FELL THROUGH THE GAP BETWEEN THE TRAIN AND PLATFORM AT THANE STATION WHILE TRYING TO BOARD A CSMTBOUND LOCAL