CHENNAI: Armed with measuring tapes and photographs, the family of 52-year-old V Vijaya walked through unused rooms and toilets at Thirumayilai MRTS station on Thursday, trying to piece together how she died.
The family told TNIE they had measured the gap in a second-floor room, from where the police claim Vijaya fell, and found it was only a foot wide. “It is unlikely that she could have fallen through it,” said her daughter, V Gayathri.
Thiruvanmiyur railway police said doctors at Royapettah Government Hospital had found Vijaya’s injuries on head and skull, fractures to the spine, ribs, were consistent with a fall from approximately 45 feet, corresponding to the room’s location.
According to the police, Vijaya entered the second-floor room around 10.40 am as she needed to relieve herself. The room was filled with scrap, iron rods and old furniture, with a gap at one corner. Gayathri, however, said she had seen her mother heading towards the first floor. “I saw my mother walking towards the staircase leading to first floor,” she said.
The family also visited the police commissioner’s office in Egmore on Thursday to file a complaint but said they were asked to return on Friday.
A railway official said he could not comment as the case is under probe. He said station staff and the RPF were deployed to assist passengers and conduct regular patrols.
(With inputs from Rajalakshmi Sampath)