Mumbai: When nearly 200 employees of the Central Railway (CR) gathered at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) during the rush hour on Thursday evening, they had only one agenda - to protest against two CR engineers being booked over the mishap in Mumbra on June 9, in which five passengers died after falling from two overcrowded local trains crossing each other during the morning rush hour.
The protest, however, took a deadly turn as cancellation and delays in more than 80 local train services compelled passengers to take desperate measures. Two commuters, who were walking along the railway tracks to CSMT, were mowed down by an Ambernath-bound local near Sandhurst Road station after services resumed around 6.45pm. Three other commuters, who were accompanying the deceased duo, were seriously injured in the incident.
The protest was organised by the Central Railway Mazdoor Sangh (CRMS) in light of the Government Railway Police (GRP) booking two CR engineers earlier this week for alleged negligence leading to commuter deaths in Mumbra.
CR officials said the protest commenced outside the Divisional Railway Manager's office at CSMT around 4.30pm. Some time later, the protesters - predominantly CR engineers - shifted to the station's concourse area, in front of the lobby for motormen and guards. As a result, no motorman or guard was able to leave the premises to operate local trains even as thousands of commuters thronged the station premises, eager to get home soon.
Between 5.50pm, when all protestors mobilised in front of the motormen's lobby, and 6.45 pm, when they were dispersed by the railway police, at least 30 local trains were cancelled while 80 others were delayed. The disruptions had a cascading effect, as crowds swelled at various railway stations along main and harbour lines and commuters rushed to get into trains which had left the CSMT earlier.
Frustrated commuters posted videos on social media, showing AC trains leaving Thane and Mulund stations with doors open due to overcrowding.
One X user, Azmat Arman, posted, "Daily travellers are treated like cockroaches in the train. The train at Thane was nearly an hour late."
Some passengers, such as Krish PK, reached out to the railway minister on X, saying, "Hello Ashwini-ji, can you please check why local trains are not moving from platforms 1 to 7? Not a single motorman in train! What a horrible condition...Complete breakdown."
Tired of waiting for local trains to resume and desperate to get to their destinations, some passengers started walking along the railway tracks. Among them were 22-year-old Kaif Chogale, 62-year-old Yafiza Chogale, 19-year-old Haley Momaya, 45-year-old Khushbu Momaya, and an unidentified male passenger, who decided to walk to CSMT after alighting from a CSMT-bound train which was halted between Byculla and Sandhurst Road.
While the five passengers were walking along the tracks, they were hit by an Ambernath-bound train which left CSMT after protestors were dispersed around 6.45pm. All five were rushed to Sir J J Hospital, where the unidentified male and Haley Momaya were declared brought dead, according to Dr Shweta, the hospital's chief medical officer. The three remaining passengers were admitted with grievous injuries. Subsequently, Kaif and Yafiza Chogale took discharge against medical advice as they wanted to seek treatment at a private hospital, the medical officer said.
The Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh (MRPS), a commuters' organisation, condemned the entire episode.
"The act of CRMS members obstructing passengers' movement and staging protests at railway stations during peak hours is highly condemnable. These actions not only disrupt essential services but also endanger the lives of thousands of daily commuters," the MRPS said in a press statement.
Calling the agitation unlawful and insensitive, the MRPS demanded immediate withdrawal of such disruptive protests, uninterrupted continuation of judicial proceedings in the Mumbra accident case, assurance of commuter safety and accountability of responsible officials.