A 30-year-old man lost his left leg after falling off a moving local train while trying to resist a mobile phone snatching attempt, at Ambernath railway station, police said.
The incident occurred when
Ritesh Yerunkar, who works at a shopping mall in Navi Mumbai, was confronted by snatchers and tried to hold on to his phone.
The Kalyan Government Railway Police (GRP) arrested the accused, identified as 27-year-old Kailash Jadhav, and he has been remanded to judicial custody. Police said Jadhav is a drug addict.
The police said that Yerunkar boarded a Badlapur-bound fast local train at Thane at around 11pm on Sunday and was seated in the luggage compartment, watching a movie on his mobile phone, Hindustan Times reported.
Police said Jadhav boarded the same compartment at Ambernath railway station (platform 1A) around 11.45 pm. As the train started leaving the station, he snatched Yerunkar’s mobile phone and jumped off the moving train onto the platform.
Yerunkar followed him in a bid to retrieve his phone, but stumbled over and slipped into the gap between the train and the platform. His left leg came under the train’s wheels and the portion of the leg above the knee got crushed.
He was also injured severely on his head and face as well, police officers familiar with the matter said.
Police personnel at Ambernath station rushed to Yerunkar’s aid and took him to a hospital in Ulhasnagar. He was later shifted to KEM Hospital in Mumbai, where doctors had to amputate his leg to save his life.
Meanwhile, at Ambernath station, other passengers raised an alarm as Jadhav attempted to flee by crossing the railway tracks. He was intercepted by personnel of the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) while trying to escape via the foot overbridge (FOB) and was subsequently arrested.
Police said he has been booked for attempt to murder and attempt to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. He also suffered head injuries after jumping off the moving train.
Pandhari Kande, senior police inspector of the Kalyan GRP, said Jadhav, a drug addict, confessed that he attempted to snatch Yerunkar’s mobile phone to finance his drug habit.
“Jadhav hails from Solapur. He had lost his father at a young age and works as a temporary labourer, including as a gas delivery boy,” Kande said.
According to Vitthal Vani, the investigating officer from Kalyan GRP, Yerunkar’s condition is serious and he remains under medical observation.
“He is unmarried and lives with his parents and brother in Badlapur East. His mobile phone, valued at less than ₹20,000, has been recovered from the accused,” Vani said.
