CHENNAI: A 20-year-old college girl was killed by a man who allegedly pushed her in front of a moving train at St. Thomas Mount Railway Station on Thursday.
The girl, M Sathya of Alandur, was waiting to board the Chennai Beach-bound train when the 31-year-old accused pushed her by allegedly tripping her leg. The girl died on the spot, the police said.
The second-year college student, who got engaged last month, comes from a family of police personnel.
Her mother M Rajalakshmi, is a head constable at the Adambakkam police station. Sathya’s mother’s sister, her maternal uncle and her aunt are all in various departments of the city police.
According to the police, the accused was identified as D Sathish of Alandur, a class VIII dropout. His father Dayalan is a retired Sub-inspector of the police.
A police source said that Sathya’s parents had already filed a police complaint against Sathish at the Mambalam police station a few weeks ago.
How the tragic crime unfolded
On Thursday afternoon, Sathya, who lives at the St. Thomas Mount Police Quarters at Alandur, had come to St. Thomas Mount Railway Station around 12:45 pm with her friend to board a train to her college at T Nagar.
Sathish, a resident of Raja Street at Alandur, also came to the station following her.
As per a witness who was present at the station during the incident, Sathya and her friend were waiting for the train on platform number 1, when Sathish started an argument with Sathya. As a train entered the station, Sathya got up from the bench and walked towards the end of the platform. Sathish went behind her. As the train neared them, Sathish allegedly deliberately tripped her leg and pushed her in front of the Chennai Beach-bound train from Tambaram. Sathya fell on the tracks and the train ran over her.
The witness, a 43-year-old woman, said, “I had come to the spot to charge my phone. Both of them were arguing, and all of a sudden, the man tripped her leg and pushed her in front of the train. He then escaped even as people tried to catch hold of him.”
Upon information, the St. Thomas Mount police, the Mambalam and Tambaram RPF rushed to the spot.
The Mambalam RPF has registered a case and an investigation.
The police said that since the accused was from the same locality, he was quickly identified by perusing CCTV footage from the scene of the crime.
A senior police official said, “Three special teams have been formed to nab the accused. We are assisting the RPF in every way possible to secure the accused as quickly as possible.”
The accused Sathish (31), was arrested near Thoraipakkam late Thursday night by the Mambalam RPF and a special team from the St Thomas Mount police. He was taken to Tambaran RPF station and then to the Mambalam RPF station for an inquiry, police said.
WATCH |
Thursday's crime a reminder of the Swathi murder case
In a similar case on June 24, 2016, Swathi, an employee of Infosys, was hacked to death by her stalker in broad daylight in the Nungambakkam railway station, Chennai. After the murder, Swathi’s body remained unattended for over an hour till the police arrived at the spot and started the investigation.
The incident not only threw light on the delay in police attending such cases but also the safety measures at railway stations.
