The “accidental” death of a 55-year-old person on the tracks of the Pazhavanthangal railway station a week ago has turned out to be a case of murder, as the police on Thursday claimed to have arrested two juveniles who allegedly committed the crime to snatch the victim’s phone, watch and cash.
On March 2, the man was found dead on the railway tracks, after a speeding train ran over him. Initially, it was treated as “death due to trespass” and the identity of the deceased was not immediately established.
In the meantime, the family of the deceased, after a frantic search across the city, reached out to the GRP for assistance to trace the missing person. Based on the identification by the family, the police came to the conclusion that the deceased was S. Kumar, 55, a resident of Arulmurugan Ramamurthy Nagar in Chrompet.
The police team under Inspector P. Kalaiselvi intensified investigation following hints given by commuters who were standing on the platform on the day of the incident. Sustained investigation revealed that Kumar was walking on the edge of the fourth platform, when two unidentified youth approached him and pushed him in an attempt to rob him of his mobile phone. Kumar fell on the track. The duo jumped on the track and snatched the mobile phone, an expensive watch and a purse. On seeing that a train was approaching, the duo quickly fled, but Kumar was caught under the train.
The GRP apprehended two juveniles and produced them before a court. They were lodged in a special home.