A final year B Tech student of the Madras Institute of Technology was run over by a suburban train on Tuesday while crossing the rail tracks close to the campus.
Police said Muhammed Shakeel, studying Information Technology in the college, instead of taking the pedestrian overbridge, was jaywalking across the tracks to reach the Chromepet railway station around 10.45 am when he was accidentally run over by a train.
“Two of his classmates were walking just a few feet away from him when the accident took place. The train pilot noticed it and alerted us through railway authorities,” the Tambaram Railway police said.
The three students had come out of the college campus during a break-hour after morning classes.
The police said the college students usually avoid taking the overbridge and instead reach the tracks through a small gate on the college campus compound wall.
“We are yet to ascertain whether Shakeel was on his cell phone because his mobile too was damaged,” said a police officer. Shakeel was a resident of Sai Nagar in Keelkattalai. His father Khalil Muhammed Ibrahim is an Airport Authority of India official.
While initially it was suspected that Shakeel had committed suicide as he failed to secure placement in a recent campus interview, his relatives ruled out the possibility. “He was aspiring to be an IAS officer. So there was no need for him to take such a step,” said a relative.
The police also ruled out another theory doing the rounds initially that he committed suicide because of unreciprocated love.