MUMBAI: A day after a 22-year-old passenger was allegedly stabbed to death during an argument over a train door on a Mumbai local, the victim’s father demanded the death penalty for the accused, saying the brutal attack had shattered his family and left him searching for answers.Speaking after the arrest of the accused, Ramesh Lohar, father of the vicitm, questioned the circumstances that led to the killing and expressed anguish over the manner in which his son was attacked.“Have you seen the video? Look at the way he attacked him, carrying a knife and using it so brutally. Who is he? What gave him the courage to do something like this? The entire administration and the whole world can see what he has done.” Lohar said. Family members also questioned how the accused was able to carry a knife onto a crowded suburban train and why fellow passengers failed to intervene during the attack.“Even local train journeys are not safe any more,” a relative said while speaking to reporters outside the hospital where the family had gathered to claim Mayank’s body.A cousin of the victim said passengers could have prevented the accused from escaping.“Had co-travellers got together and overpowered the accused, he could have been apprehended on the spot. Instead, they made videos on their phones,” he said.According to the family, Mayank had been commuting daily between Virar and Andheri for nearly a year for work at a retail clothing store and had no prior connection with the accused.“He used to keep to himself on the commute. He had never met the accused before,” his father Ramesh Lohar said.The victim, Mayank Lohar, was allegedly stabbed inside a first-class compartment of a Churchgate-Nallasopara fast local train on Tuesday night between Andheri and Borivali stations.According to investigators, an argument broke out between Mayank and co-passenger Sachin Ramesh Suvarna over whether the train doors should remain open amid the rains.During the altercation, Suvarna allegdly pilled out a sharp weapon and stabbed Mayank in the abdomen and chest.The injured youth collapsed inside the coach, while the accused allegedly jumped off the train at Borivali station and fled.Despite efforts by Government Railway Police (GRP), Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and medical teams, Mayank succumbed to his injuries after being taken to hospital.Overcome with grief, the victim’s father said he wanted the harshest punishment possible for the accused.“He killed my son; he took his life. He should also be hanged. If he is executed, the world should see it and understand that this is the fate of someone who kills a child. He should be given the death penalty. Only then will my heart find some peace. I want him to be punished and sentenced to death. That is what I am demanding,” he said. Police launched a massive manhunt after the incident, forming multiple teams and examining footage from nearly 400 CCTV cameras across the Western Railway network and adjoining areas.Police launched a massive manhunt after the incident, forming multiple teams and examiningOfficials said the accused was traced to Panvel within hours and arrested. The weapon allegedly used in the attack is yet to be recovered.Family members said they were waiting for Mayank to return home from work when they received a call from police informing them that he had been injured.“Maybe they thought it would be difficult to break the news over the phone,” said Mohit Lohar, the victim’s younger brother. “Our mother is inconsolable.”Police said a co-passenger attempted to help Mayank after the attack, but he had already lost a significant amount of blood.Investigators have recorded statements from two eyewitnesses who came forward after the incident.The postmortem examination was conducted on Wednesday. The family said the funeral will be held in Virar after Mayank’s elder brother and grandfather arrive.It was the second stabbing incident reported on the Western Railway corridor this year.
