VELLORE: A 17-year-old student at Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF) in Vellore, died after allegedly falling off a train heading from Chennai to Mysore around 4 pm on Sunday. The victim, R Hashwanth from Tiruvallur was returning to college from his hometown.
According to the railway police, Hashwanth met with the accident some 3 kilometres away from Katpadi Railway Station where he slipped and fell, landed on the adjacent track, and was run over by another train travelling in the opposite direction. A co-passenger alerted the Katpadi Railway police and handed over Hashwanth’s bag as well. By the time the police arrived at the spot, Hashwanth was dead.
Following a post-mortem at Adukkamparai government hospital, his body was handed over to relatives, police said.
‘No one offered help’
Meanwhile, a viral post on X, featuring images from a Reddit post, claimed that students from a nearby university had witnessed the boy falling from the train and that he was still alive afterwards.
The post also claimed that the students had approached hostel wardens and guards for help but they were unwilling to assist. It further mentioned that there was enough time before the second train arrived.
However, when TNIE inquired about the incident none of the students were available for comment. The post suggested that had timely help been provided, the boy’s life might have been saved. Despite repeated requests from TNIE, the university’s public relations officer also did not respond to the issue till time of publication.