Now Reading: Mumbai police use sign language expert to question train murder witness
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Mumbai police use sign language expert to question train murder witness
Mumbai police use sign language expert to question train murder witness
Mumbai's Government Railway Police have found a deaf-and-mute eyewitness to the murder of Cajetan Pires, a 63-year-old amputee pushed from a moving local train on Thursday. An expert sign-language interpreter helped record…
Mumbai's Government Railway Police have found a deaf-and-mute eyewitness to the murder of Cajetan Pires, a 63-year-old amputee pushed from a moving local train on Thursday. An expert sign-language interpreter helped record the witness's account on Friday.
The witness told police that Pires boarded at Mahim station and asked co-passenger Amjad Shaikh, who was occupying a seat in the Divyangjan coach meant for persons with disabilities, to vacate it. Shaikh refused, argued, then grabbed Pires by the shirt collar and pushed him, causing Pires to fall out of the moving train.
Police said Shaikh was travelling without a ticket. The compartment had no surveillance cameras. Shaikh faces murder charges, and a senior officer said the police are building a strong case. Pires's funeral was held at Santacruz on Saturday, his family has demanded the harshest punishment.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The GRP's use of a sign-language expert to record the witness statement shows how crimes on Mumbai's suburban network, which carries over seven million passengers daily, often lack CCTV coverage, only a fraction of the 2,500 rakes have cameras. The Divyangjan coach was mandated by the Railways Act to reserve space for persons with disabilities, but enforcement of seat priority is left to passengers, not railway staff. This case will test whether the absence of a ticket compounds culpability under the Indian Penal Code or remains a separate Railway Act violation. The family's call for the 'strongest possible punishment' aligns with Section 302 (murder) charges, though courts often downgrade such platform-push cases to culpable homicide. The key signal to watch is whether the magistrate's court remands Shaikh to police custody on Monday, indicating a homicide probe.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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