BENGALURU: A 57-year-old man ended his life by jumping in front of an approaching metro train at Doddakallasandra Metro Station on Saturday in South Bengaluru. Due to the incident, the metro service between Yelachenahalli and Silk Institute stations on the green line was disrupted for about three hours. The deceased has been identified as Naveen Kumar Arora, a resident of Kumaraswamy Layout.
According to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) officials, Naveen Kumar jumped in front of the train on the Green Line when it was just about to leave Doddakallasandra station. “The driver was unable to apply brakes and the train ran over him. He was unaccompanied when he jumped on the tracks. This is a case of death by suicide,” a senior BMRCL official said.
Naveen took this extreme step around 5.45pm. About 10 minutes later, police received information about the incident and rushed to the spot. A BMRCL source said that CCTV footage is being shared with the police. “Passengers who were onboard the train were immediately de-boarded, and the station was completely closed,” he said.
After deboarding the passengers, necessary clearance was taken by the authorities to reverse the train. The body was lifted from the tracks at around 7.30 pm before shifting it to KIMS hospital for a post mortem. BMRCL stated that metro services were resumed at 8.45 pm.
Police suspect financial disputes and domestic problems could have triggered the extreme step. Naveen lived away from his family and worked in a hardware shop. However, the exact reason is yet to be ascertained. A case has been registered at Konanakunte police station.
This is the second fatal incident this year on the metro tracks. Earlier, on March 22, a 19-year-old law student from NLSIU had jumped in front of a train at Attiguppe Metro Station.
The first such incident of a person jumping in front of a moving metro train was reported on February 21 2012, where a 17-year-old threw himself in front of a moving train at MG Road Metro Station.
Meanwhile, this year, in January, a youth from Kerala tried to end his life by jumping on the tracks at Jalahalli Metro Station and was seriously injured. A woman jumped onto the tracks to pick up her mobile phone at Indira Nagar Metro Station but escaped unhurt. In June, a young man tried to commit suicide at Hosahalli Metro Station. Two days ago, a four-year-old accidentally fell on the metro tracks while playing at Baiyappanahalli Metro Station, and alert metro staffers switched off the emergency trip system power line to save the child.