Three men died after being run over by a train in outer Delhi’s Nangloi in the early hours of Monday. Police said the trio was sitting on the tracks and consuming alcohol when the train approached.

Senior police officers said they suspect that the dead men could not sense the speed of the train so as to move away from the railway tracks in time since they were drinking.

According to the residents of the area, police said, the three men — Mukesh Verma (50), a tailor who was also into gambling, Sushil Kumar (28), a part-time auto driver and Dishant Kumar (26), also an auto driver — were seen sitting near an electric pole along the railway tracks in Nangloi in front of Prem Nagar Colony around 6.30am.

Deputy commissioner of police, (Railways), Dinesh Kumar Gupta, said the train — ‘12456’ Ferozpur Inter City — does not stop at Nangloi railway station and that it passed through the tracks at 7.10am.

“According to the driver and the guard of the train, the three men who were run over were sitting near electric pole number 17/24-26 at the time of the incident. The Sarai Rohilla police station received a PCR call pertaining to the incident at 7.22 am. After reaching the spot, a police team found the dismembered bodies of the three men. Enquiry revealed that the three persons were run over while they were drinking alcohol on the railway tracks,” the DCP said.

Gupta said the bodies were sent to the Sabji Mandi mortuary for postmortem examination and family members of the deceased were informed about the incident. “This is a clear case of accident. The investigating officer has been directed to get the viscera preserved to ascertain the presence of alcohol in the body. Two bottles of countrymade liquor, one packet of snacks, a bundle of bidi, a matchbox, cigarettes packets and three disposable glasses were recovered from the spot,” the officer said, adding that the statement of the loco pilot, Randhir Singh, is yet to be recorded.

Auto driver Ashwini Kumar, father of Sushil Kumar, one of the deceased men, said, “He had returned from work around 6am. Upon his return, he asked his mother for a jacket and left again around 6.30am.We had no idea where is he going. If I knew we were seeing him for the last time, I would never let him leave home.”

Sushil, who had celebrated his 28th birthday only last month, is survived by his parents, two brothers and a sister. “We were looking forward to marry Sushil off soon. His mother was searching for a bride. The family was to see celebrations shortly but now everything has been ruined,” the father said.

First Published: Oct 30, 2018 09:55 IST