GRP to step up probe, trace passengers, record statements
Kanpur, Nov. 29 -- A day after a murder case was registered against travelling ticket examiner (TTE) Santosh Kumar for allegedly pushing a Naval officer's wife Aarti Yadav, 32, off a moving train following a dispute over a ticket on November 25 night, the Government Railway Police (GRP) on Friday began the process of tracing passengers of the train in question - the 04089 Patna-Anand Vihar Special - to reconstruct the events leading up to her fall near Etawah.
With the coach lacking CCTV surveillance, officials have said that passenger testimonies will be key to determining whether the death resulted from an accident or a deliberate act.
The GRP has formally sought passenger details from the Railways and will soon begin contacting them individually to record statements."The chronology of events can only be established with the help of the travelling passengers.
Their accounts are necessary as the coach did not have CCTV," said Etawah GRP circle officer Uday Pratap Singh, adding that investigators would prioritise identifying those seated near the S-11 coach, where the incident occurred. Singh confirmed that a case of murder was registered against the TTE.
The murder case was registered against the TTE on a complaint filed by Aarti's father, alleging that a ticket dispute escalated into physical violence.
According to the FIR, the TTE allegedly threw Aarti's bag out of the train and moments later pushed her off, causing her death between Samhon and Bharthana railway stations.
Police recovered the victim's bag roughly four kilometres ahead of the location where her body was found.
Aarti's mobile phone remains missing, the family suspects it may have been taken to eliminate digital evidence.
Aarti, who had a reservation in the Barauni-New Delhi Humsafar Special, boarded the Anand Vihar Terminal Special instead at Kanpur station as her original train was running nearly nine hours late and she had a medical appointment to keep in Delhi.
Preliminary findings suggest an argument took place when she insisted on paying the penalty for travelling in the wrong train.
Aarti's husband, Naval officer Anil Singh, met police officials in Etawah on Friday, calling for a fair and transparent inquiry. "All we want is that the investigation is impartial and that such incidents do not repeat in future," he said.
The post-mortem report and call detail records are awaited....
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