Surat: A foreign national died after being taken into Railway Protection Force (RPF) custody at Surat railway station following a violent confrontation with passengers aboard the Golden Temple Express on Monday night, prompting police to register an accidental death case and launch an investigation.
The incident occurred as the Mumbai–Delhi Golden Temple Express was travelling after departing from Bandra Terminus earlier that evening. The RPF control room received information that a foreign national was creating disturbance in a general coach and arguing with co-passengers.
When RPF personnel reached the coach and attempted to calm the man by speaking to him in English, he reportedly became more aggressive and started fighting with passengers. He then removed a fire extinguisher fitted inside the coach and used it to attack fellow travellers, even as some passengers fought back as the situation escalated, as reported by India Today.
Authorities were alerted and, by the time the train reached Surat late at night, around 15 to 20 Government Railway Police (GRP) and RPF personnel were already deployed on the platform. They entered the coach, brought the man under control after “considerable effort”, and took him to the RPF police station on Platform 1 for questioning, the report said.
While police officers were conducting preliminary questioning at the RPF police station, the foreign national suddenly collapsed and became unconscious. Police immediately called an ambulance and shifted him to Surat’s SMIMER Hospital in a 108 ambulance, where doctors examined him and declared him dead.
The Surat Railway Police have begun an inquiry into the death in custody. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DYSP) D H Gaur has been assigned to investigate the case, and a post-mortem examination of the body was conducted at SMIMER Hospital. The exact cause of death will be established after the post-mortem report is received, the report added.
Surat Western Railway Superintendent of Police Abhay Soni told India Today’s sister channel Aaj Tak that the railway police received information through ‘Rail Madad’ at around 10 pm about a foreign national fighting with Indian passengers aboard the Golden Temple Express. He said the train had departed from Borivali and reached Surat at around 10 pm.
Soni said the RPF and GRP reached Platform 1 after receiving the information and found the foreign national fighting with co-passengers using a fire extinguisher. He said the man was taken off the train as per protocol and brought to the RPF police station on Platform 1.
According to Soni, the man became unconscious during questioning and was taken to hospital by ambulance, where doctors declared him dead. He said authorities have started an inquiry into the custodial death and are also working to establish the identity of the foreign national.
Police said the man had no identification documents. They recovered only a phone from him. Investigators will recover data from the phone in accordance with forensic protocols and prescribed standards before taking further action.
