Student falls off train while speaking on phone

Mumbai: A First Year Junior College student of Mahatma Gandhi College died after falling off a train on Saturday night. Shivani Patil (16), a resident of Badlapur, was attending a phone call as she stood near the door of the railway compartment.

Shivani was coming home on the Badlapur-bound train from Ulhasnagar, where she attended her coaching classes.

Avinash Pagare, resident of Badlapur and Patil's neighbour, said, "I was in the same Badlapur train. I heard that a girl had fallen off and heard she was from my area. So I got off when someone pulled the chain between Ambernath and Badlapur."

Woman commuters said that though Shivani was sitting initially in the ladies' coach, she got up to speak on the phone and went near the door so she would have access to the mobile network. But since the train travels at high speed between Ambernath and Badlapur, she lost her balance and fell, getting hit on the head.

Pagare added, "When I got down, I immediately recognised her. I picked her up and started walking on the tracks to reach Badlapur station so that I could take her to hospital. We rushed her to Dhanvantari hospital, where we were refused admission, as no surgeon was available. We took her to another hospital nearby where she was declared dead by doctors."

A stationmaster of Badlapur who does not wish to be named said, "College students should not speak on the phone near the door, or use earphones while crossing railway tracks."

A N Koli, a police official at Kalyan police station said, "The accident happened between 8.30 pm and 9 pm. The case of accidental death case has been registered at the police station. She fell from the train while she was standing near the door."

Shivani was a bright student who secured 88 per cent in the SSC board exam last year.

She was studying science subjects in the college at Ambernath.

The Other Side
Dr Pramod Paritekar, owner of Dhanvantari hospital, said, "It's not like we refused her admission. There was only a homoeopath at the hospital when she was brought in. She was in such a bad state that she needed a surgeon to attend to her immediately. So we advised that she be taken to the hospital nearby, where a surgeon was present."