A 19-year-old college student, reportedly travelling ticketless, fell down from a train and died as he tried to evade a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) near Vepampattu station in Tiruvallur district on Wednesday morning.
His collegemates staged a rail roko in protest from 9.30 a.m. to 10.15 a.m. and train services were affected for half an hour. The police resorted to lathi charge to chase away those who pelted stones at the train and policemen. The Tiruvallur Government Railway Police (GRP) registered a case under section 174 CrPC (unnatural death) and investigation is on.
Police said the victim G. Raman, was a second-year polytechnic student in a private college in Vepampattu. On Wednesday morning, he boarded a train from Pattabiram. “Around 9 a.m., as the train neared Vepampattu station, he spotted the TTE. It is suspected he had not renewed his pass. Assuming that the train had reached the station, he jumped out to avoid getting caught and came under the wheels of the train,” said a senior police officer.
He died while being rushed to the Tiruvallur Government Hospital. On hearing the news, his collegemates gathered in large numbers on the tracks near Vepampattu railway station and sought action against the ticket examiner. “The train services towards Chennai and Arakonnam were affected for over half-an-hour. The students dispersed after we assured them of a proper investigation into the incident,” said the officer.
Some passengers told police sources that the TTE had chased the boy on the platform. “He was hit by the train when he tried to run across the track to avoid getting caught. Though it is a rumour, we are investigating it too,” said a police source.
