Mumbai, October 29
The Maharashtra government has ordered a probe into the killing of a youth in a Mumbai local train on Tuesday. The probe will be supervised by the cabinet secretary, according to state government officials.
According to a complaint filed with the railway police, the victim Dharamdev Rai, 25, along with three friends, was on his way to his village near Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh to celebrate Diwali when the incident occurred.
Rai and his friends Veerendra Ramgopal Rai, Satyaprakash Kaushal Rai and Shivkumar Verma were travelling from Khopoli to the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus in downtown Mumbai from where they were to board a train home when the incident occurred. Along the route, the men were accosted by 10-12 Marathi-speaking men who abused the migrant workers and warned them not to return to Mumbai. The victims also told the police that the Marathi-speaking men wanted to occupy the window seat they were sitting next to.
However, the four youths shouted back at their tormentors and were attacked in turn. In their complaint the three men said they were punched and kicked and made to do sit ups in the train by their tormentors who then got off the train. However on the way, the victim began complaining of stomach pain and his three friends called the police control room advertised in every compartment of
Mumbai's trains. Police officials took the victim to the Dubey hospital at Badlapur railway station where Rai was declared dead.
As per the post mortem performed on the victim, the officials said he had suffered injuries to his liver following the beating.
Though such arguments and quarrels are common in Mumbai's local trains, the atmosphere of distrust between Marathi-speaking people and migrants from North India is adding to the tension, say observers.
After a hue and cry was raised on the issue, the police are investigating. Though two people have been detained for questioning the police haven't been able to determine the identity of the assailants.
