Mumbai: Four of family found dead by tracks

Three of the bodies were found in a heap by the tracks, while the fourth was found a few feet away

Four youths - all cousins, aged between 17 and 25 - were mysteriously found dead beside the railway tracks between Kandivli and Borivli stations early on Monday morning. While the police suspect they jumped off a local train to take a shortcut home, the family has alleged murder. They pointed out a bizarre detail: all four bodies show no sign of injuries, except for a blow to the back of the head.

The deceased were identified as Sagar Chavan, 25, Saiprasad Chavan, 17, his brother Duttaprasad, 20, and the fourth cousin Manoj Chavan, 17. Sagar was returning home to Kajupada in Kandivli East from a wedding in Sindhudurg. His uncle, Maruti Chavan, said, "Sagar had gone to our hometown, Pondaghat, for his friend's wedding. His cousins decided to travel back to Mumbai with him for their summer holidays. Their reached Mumbai on Monday morning."

After arriving at Dadar, the youths boarded a Borivli local, from which they are suspected to have fallen. Their bodies were spotted on the tracks by the train guard at 5.30 am. Sources said that the guard did not see whether they had fallen from the train. The Borivli Government Railway Police (GRP) will now speak to the train driver, as he may have seen more.

(Clockwise from top left) Sagar, Manoj, Saiprasad and Duttaprasad

Three of the bodies were found in a heap beside the tracks, while the fourth was a few feet away. The bodies have been sent to Bhagwati Hospital for post-mortem.

Senior Inspector Shailendra Dhivar of Borivli GRP said, "Prima facie, it seems to be an accident. The youths may have tried to jump from the train and walk home. Many people do that to take a shortcut to Poisar. When they jumped, a train from the opposite direction might have hit them."

Family cries foul
The Chavan family didn't buy the police's theory, and alleged foul play. One of the family members said, "The way in which the bodies were found was highly suspicious. All four brothers received a single injury - the same injury - on the back of their head. If they fell from the train, there should have been other injuries as well."

The four deaths have come as a huge blow to the Chavan family. Sagar is survived by his parents and two sisters, while Manoj is survived by his brother and parents. Saiprasad and Duttaprasad's parents have no other children.

Sagar's mother, Shobha Chavan, did not even find out about the mishap until many hours later, when relatives from Sindhudurg called her. "Sagar was my only son. I knew he was to return on Monday, but he did not call me when he got on the train. Around 11 am, I got a call from my hometown. I found out that all four boys had died. They had travelled on this stretch so many times before with no mishaps."

Sources from the police said the family's murder theory was unlikely. "There were no signs of an altercation; no sign of distress to the bodies or clothes. We are in search of eyewitnesses or passengers on the train to find out what happened," said an officer, adding that an Accidental Death Report (ADR) has been filed.

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