MUMBAI: What are the chances of identifying someone you’re looking for in a Mumbai local train? Even though the odds were heavily stacked against them, police officers of the Government Railway Police (GRP) boarded the 5.10pm Borivali-bound train at Andheri station, determined to find witnesses to the January 24 murder at Malad station.
They found not one, but three witnesses to the incident, which claimed the life of Alok Singh, a 33-year-old NM College teacher stabbed to death after a petty quarrel over right of way in a train compartment.
Singh, who had boarded the 5.10pm train at Andheri, was lined up near the door, waiting to alight at Malad. As the train pulled in at Malad, 27-year-old Omkar Shinde, who worked in a jewellery unit, stabbed Singh following an argument. Singh bled to death and was declared dead on admission to hospital.
Although the coach in which Singh was attacked was packed to capacity, police had only one witness – Sudhirkumar Suryakumar Trivedi, 41, a colleague of Singh, who was travelling with him. “We needed more witnesses, to strengthen our case,” said an officer with the Borivali GRP.
“We appealed to witnesses to come forward but found none. So we scanned CCTV footage of the spot where Singh was seen stumbling from the train with a stab wound. We studied the footage, made notes of people alighting from the train along with Singh, and decided to search for witnesses,” said the officer.
Police figured that since the incident took place during rush hour, most of the commuters were regulars, that is, they probably board the same train, even the same coach, every weekday evening.
“We travelled in the train from Andheri to Malad and reached out to three men who witnessed the altercation between Singh and Shinde,” said Khuperkar. He said the GRP recorded their statements on Thursday and they will take part in an identification parade, to see if they can identify Shinde.
“We are looking for more witnesses, especially the woman who was present in the coach when Singh was stabbed. Shinde had told the police he was furious at being “humiliated” in the presence of a woman, as Singh had argued and allegedly slapped him in front of her.
Police have appealed to the woman to come forward via the media and social media but have drawn a blank so far.
Meanwhile, GRP commissioner M Rakesh Kalasagar said that, after the stabbing, they have requested additional CCTV cameras, more baggage scanners and handheld metal detectors at all stations on both the Central and Western Railways, especially at terminal stations. They have also requested CCTV cameras inside train compartments. “We have also requested the railways to close unauthorised exits at all locations,” said Kalasagar.
A Western Railway spokesperson said they would be installing more than 12,000 cameras inside 1,500 coaches in local trains. WR authorities said the process to procure, install, test and commission the cameras is underway. These high-end CCTVs will have face recognition and video analytics to monitor the goings-on inside coaches.
Singh’s family is still reeling from the shock of Aloke’s murder. Manoj Singh, Alok’s uncle, said, “No one from the authorities (railways or GRP) has bothered to get in touch with us. We are currently out of station and will follow up as soon as we return in a few days.”