Mumbai: Allegedly humiliated after being told off for opening a door during heavy rain, a 30-year-old man pulled out a large knife from a bag and brutally stabbed a 21-year-old co-passenger to death in a Nalasopara-bound train’s first class coach late on Tuesday as others looked on in terror. He was caught by Borivli GRP in Panvel on Wednesday while allegedly planning an escape to his hometown in Karnataka.Police said the victim, Virar resident Mayank Lohar, and the alleged killer, Roshan Suvarna from Mira-Bhayander, first had an argument over keeping the door closed and were separated by co-passengers, but the suspect went after Lohar and stabbed him in the chest and abdomen repeatedly. A video recorded by a passenger showed him brandishing the knife after the killing and threatening onlookers.Police said Suvarna, who makes barcodes for an organisation, had had a squabble with an auto driver earlier in the day and are probing whether he was drunk. While his bag was found, the knife was yet to be recovered. He told police that had bought the knife from an e-commerce platform for a friend. So far, police have not come across any prior criminal offence registered against him.The murder came five months after a junior college teacher, Alok Kumar Singh, was stabbed with a pair of tongs by a co-traveller, Omkar Shinde, in a local at Malad station following a dispute over alighting on Jan 24.Police said both Lohar and Suvarna boarded the train at Andheri station at 10.42pm. They stood near one of the doors, which were kept shut to keep the rain out. Suvarna reportedly opened the door and rainwater splashed a few passengers seated inside. Lohar shut it again, which allegedly triggered an argument between him and Suvarna.According to police, there was a minor scuffle between the two, following which co-passengers came out in Lohar’s support and a few of them manhandled Suvarna. They separated the two men and sent them towards different exits of the coach.Police suspect Suvarna felt humiliated after being manhandled and blamed Lohar for it. When the train was between Goregaon and Malad stations, he took a large knife out of his bag and stabbed Lohar in the chest and the abdomen three to four times. Lohar was caked in blood and lost consciousness. As the train neared Borivli station, Suvarna hopped off.Police arrived within minutes and Lohar was moved to a hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead around midnight.Borivli GRP formed seven teams to look for Suvarna and scoured through footage from 400 cameras through Tuesday night and early Wednesday. Cameras had captured him exiting from Borivli West and taking an auto for his home. “He did not speak to anyone about the incident and intended to flee to his hometown in Karnataka. We were able to trace his family in Mira-Bhayander and track his location to Panvel,” said a police official.The killing raised concerns over passenger safety on the city’s rail network. Prior to the stabbing of the college teacher in Jan, a commuter standing near the door of a local train was kicked by a co-traveller following an argument, causing him to fall on the tracks between Borivli and Kandivli stations in Nov 2024.The Tuesday incident led to demands for mandatory metal detectors and baggage screening at all railway stations, similar to the system in place for Metro stations, but officials pointed out feasibility issues. Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh, a commuter welfare group, asked how a person carrying a weapon was able to enter the system undetected, and demanded effective screening through equipment that is functional, automatic door-closing locals and AI-based CCTV surveillance. Police officials said lack of access control at railway stations is the biggest challenge for security. “Mumbai Metro has turnstile gates accompanied by mandatory baggage checking, but the sheer volume of passengers on the railways makes it tough to examine what each of them is carrying,” said an official.
