CHENNAI: A one-and-a-half-year-old girl was run over by the train she travelled in when her mother, who was carrying the child, tried to get off a moving train and lost balance at Mambalam station on Tuesday.
The Mannai Express had a two-minute halt at the station around 5.10 am and just started moving when S Lakshmi (32), carrying her daughter Yesasri in her arms, decided to get off. As the mother lost balance, she, along with the child, fell through the gap between the coach and the platform. Within a moment, even before anyone could react, the child was run over by the train, killing her on the spot. Lakshmi’s leg came under the wheels and almost got severed, according to police sources.
On seeing this, Lakshmi’s husband Singaravadivel (37) jumped to the platform and raised an alarm. The passengers stopped the train by pulling the chain, said railway police. Lakshmy was later taken to a hospital.
Singaravadivel was working as an assistant professor in a private college in Chennai and the couple were returning after visiting their home district, Thanjavur, along with their child. Police say the couple may have decided to get of at Mambalam station instead of at the final destination at Egmore station, as Mambalam is closer to their residence at KK Nagar. “They must have thought of getting off at the last minute when the train began to move after a two-minute halt. Lakshmi tried to get down first,” police said.
Meanwhile, Government Railway Police (GRP) SP Vijaykumar told Express that every Friday, a joint awareness campaign by GRP and Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel was held at railway stations in the city, to educate commuters on rail safety.