In what was the second instance in one week, a train rooftop traveller died on contact with the charged overhead wires. The incident that took place at around 9.40 am at Vashi resulted in services on the Harbour Line down route stopping for around 40 minutes.
According to Government Railway Police, 17-year-old Younus Ismail Khan was on his way to Vashi from Govandi. Khan was trying to get off from the rooftop at Vashi, when he accidentally touched the overhead wires. The railway authorities stopped the electric current and rushed the youth to hospital. “Khan was rushed to the Vashi General Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival,” said a GRP officer.
The police officers confirmed that rooftop travel was unnecessary as the Down trains were not even crowded at that hour.
The police added that Khan belonged to a poor family and had told his mother that he was on his way to Vashi for some work. A case of accidental death has been registered.
Four trains were terminated before their destination due to the incident.
Last Wednesday, Saif Ahmed Shaikh (18) was travelling on the roof of a CST-bound Panvel local, when he touched the wires at Govandi station and got electrocuted.
The drives undertaken by the Railway Protection Force to curb incidents of rooftop deaths seem to have had little effect.
In order to stop these incidents, the RPF has also started invoking Section 154 of The Railway Act (endangering safety of persons travelling by rash or negligent act or omission) apart from Section 156 (rooftop or footboard travel).