BENGALURU: Bengaluru Metro services were disrupted on Tuesday afternoon when a 30-year-old man from Bihar attempted suicide by jumping on the tracks before an approaching train at Jnanabharathi station on the Purple Line, at 2.13pm.
An alert woman security guard immediately pressed the emergency button, bringing the train to a halt and saving Siddharth Jain’s life. Train services on this stretch of the Purple Line were impacted for 17 minutes.
Jain is married and employed at an electronics store in JC Nagar, said Jnanabharathi police sources. “He has numerous financial commitments and was struggling, so he decided to take his own life,” said a source.
According to a BMRCL source, “When a train going towards Challaghatta was approaching Platform 2, the man made a dash and jumped in front of it. Luckily, he fell between the rails under the train, and escaped the wheels. Within seconds, a security guard, Rashmi, dashed to the Emergency Trip System on the platform, broke the glass and operated the switch inside. The train came to a halt immediately.”
The man was pulled out from beneath the train by Metro staff who rushed to the spot. “Jain’s act reveals a clear attempt to commit suicide. Rashmi’s swift action saved his life. She sustained a few minor cuts on her left palm when she broke the glass to press the switch,” he added.
Rashmi, recently married, joined 24 Secure Services, one of the agencies to whom BMRCL has outsourced security, three months ago.
An official release from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited said, “As per preliminary information, no injuries were reported.” To ensure that operations on the Purple Line continued uninterrupted, two trains were operated on short loop from Whitefield to Mysuru Road. By 2.30pm, the entire Purple Line operations were restored.”
Jain was handed over to Jnanabharathi police station for investigation. “We have not filed any case against Jain. We counselled him against taking such drastic action,” a police officer said.
Since last year, a spate of incidents involving passengers deliberately or accidentally falling on Metro tracks have disrupted train operations. It has also spurred a vociferous demand from the public for installation of Platform Screen Doors to avert such incidents. The most recent one was reported last month when two visually impaired male students slipped and fell on the tracks at Kempegowda Metro Station. One of them suffered a minor injury.