Mumbai: The family of 22-year-old Mayank Lohar, who was fatally stabbed inside a Mumbai local train following an argument over whether train doors should remain open during heavy rain, has demanded the strictest punishment for the accused, saying only the death penalty would deliver justice.
“We want justice. The punishment should be the death penalty. I have also lost everything, so the punishment should be death,” Mayank’s sister said as the family mourned the young man’s death.
The incident occurred aboard a Mumbai suburban train after a dispute among passengers over keeping the doors open during heavy rainfall. Videos recorded after the attack showed the accused, identified as Sachin Ramesh Suvarna, allegedly holding a bloodstained knife inside the crowded coach while the victim lay motionless.
Police arrested the 30-year-old accused within 24 hours of the crime following a large-scale investigation involving footage from more than 400 CCTV cameras across multiple railway stations.
Dispute Over Train Door Ends in Fatal Attack
According to the Government Railway Police (GRP), the incident took place at around 10.50 pm on Tuesday inside the first-class compartment of the Churchgate–Nallasopara fast local train while it was travelling between Andheri and Borivali stations.
Police said passengers were arguing over whether the train doors should remain open or closed as rainwater was entering the compartment. The disagreement allegedly escalated when Suvarna pulled out a sharp weapon and stabbed Mayank in the chest and abdomen.
The victim collapsed inside the coach, while the accused reportedly jumped off the moving train near Borivali station and fled before the train came to a halt.
Railway officials, along with personnel from the GRP and the Railway Protection Force (RPF), rushed to the compartment after the train reached Borivali station. Mayank was taken to the station’s emergency medical room and later shifted to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
CCTV Analysis Helps Police Track Suspect
The incident triggered widespread outrage after videos from the scene circulated on social media on Wednesday morning, prompting renewed concerns over passenger safety on Mumbai’s suburban rail network. A murder case was subsequently registered.
To trace the suspect, railway police formed seven special investigation teams comprising officers from railway police stations and the Western Railway crime branch.
Investigators examined footage from over 400 CCTV cameras installed at Borivali, Andheri, Mira Road and Nallasopara railway stations, along with surveillance systems at nearby entry and exit points.
Based on technical analysis, CCTV evidence and intelligence inputs, police identified the suspect as Sachin Ramesh Suvarna, a resident of Mira Road East. He was arrested from the Panvel area of Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.
Accused Allegedly Planned to Leave Mumbai
Police said Suvarna returned home after the incident and informed his father that he had been involved in an altercation on a local train. Fearing arrest, he allegedly left home around midnight and planned to flee Mumbai before investigators located and apprehended him.
The murder weapon has not yet been recovered and the accused is currently being questioned, police said.
The case marks the second fatal stabbing reported on Mumbai’s Western Railway suburban network this year. In February, a 32-year-old college lecturer was allegedly stabbed to death during an altercation while attempting to get off a train at Malad station. Police had arrested the accused in that case as well.
The latest incident has once again raised concerns over commuter safety on Mumbai’s lifeline railway network, with Mayank’s family demanding the harshest punishment for the accused and calling for stronger measures to prevent such crimes in the future.
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