Young woman who fell from train fighting mobile snatchers dies in Chennai

A 22-year-old woman, Preeti S, who fell off an MRTS (Mass Rapid Transport System) train at Indira Nagar Railway Station on July 2, passed away at a hospital in Chennai on Saturday, July 8. Preethi was a resident of Kandanchavadi and was working at a private firm in Kotturpuram. On the evening of July 2, she took the MRTS at Kotturpuram and was headed towards Thiruvanmiyur. Due to the heavy crowd inside the train, she was standing close to the door, when two men tried to snatch her cell phone. Preethi tried to resist the muggers, and in the scuffle fell on the platform at Indira Nagar railway station and sustained severe head injuries. The Railway police have arrested the two men and an investigation is underway.

Preetha's brother Gubendran said Preethi was lying on the platform and bystanders did not call for an ambulance or get her access to emergency health care. A passenger called the emergency phone number from Preethi's ID card and informed her parents about the accident. Her family rushed to the spot and shifted Preethi to the Royapettah Government Hospital for treatment. Preethi was later shifted to SIMS hospital on the same day. She underwent several surgeries as she had sustained severe injuries on the right side of her head.

According to her colleagues, she had joined the firm two months ago and had come on a Sunday for the first time. "It was unfortunate to see this happen. It becomes very unsafe to travel anywhere," one of her colleagues said. 

Preethi’s phone was sold to a shop in ECR (East Coast Road) for Rs 2,000. It was switched off for the last five days and became active on July 7. The police who traced the cellphone signal and CCTV footage arrested Vignesh (27), a resident of Foreshore Estate, and Manimaran of Adyar. The Government Railway Police (Thiruvanmiyur) registered a case against the duo under sections 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) and 302 (punishment for murder) of the IPC (Indian Penal Code), and the investigation is underway.

Obituary banner at Kandhanchavadi

Preethi’s cousin, Akshay, alleged that the railway police failed to act until Preethi was declared dead, “We filed a complaint, but they showed no interest in finding the culprits. There was no guard at the railway station to rescue her at the time of the accident. When the next train stopped at the station, a passenger picked up her ID card and informed us and railway officials," he added. Her relatives demanded an ex-gratia payment and a government job for her brother and urged the railways to implement necessary safety measures at the MRTS stations.