Mumbai local train stabbing accused seeks bail citing sudden quarrel victim's father opposes plea

Mumbai, Nov 9 (PTI) A 30-year-old man, held for allegedly stabbing a co-passenger to death during an argument over open doors on a Mumbai local train, has sought bail from a court, claiming the incident was the result of a "sudden quarrel" without premeditation.

Opposing his plea, the 22-year-old victim's father asserted that the fatal attack in June was deliberate, cruel, and carried out after an eight-minute cooling-off gap.

The accused, Roshan Suvarna, recently moved the bail plea before a sessions court. The plea will be next heard on November 20.

The victim, Mayank Lohar, was fatally assaulted allegedly by Suvarna inside a first-class compartment of a local train between Andheri and Borivali stations in the western suburbs on June 23 night.

As per the prosecution, an argument broke out between the two passengers at the door of the Nalasopara-bound train over rainwater splashing inside the compartment.

The argument took a nasty turn when Lohar was stabbed in the chest and abdomen around 10.50 pm allegedly by Suvarna with a sharp weapon, leaving the former seriously injured. Lohar was declared dead on arrival at Shatabdi Hospital, police said.

Suvarna, a resident of Mira Road in adjoining Thane district, was arrested by the Government Railway Police on June 24.

In his bail plea, filed through advocates Vinod Kashid and Sumit Bhoite, Suvarna contended that he and the victim were strangers with no prior enmity.

Even if the prosecution's case is accepted, the act would fall under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) rather than Section 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), it said.

Suvarna alternatively claimed that he was falsely implicated after merely trying to intervene in a fight between the victim and an unknown assailant, during which he also sustained injuries below his eyes and on his face.

Rebutting the claim of a sudden fight, the victim's father, in his intervention application, pointed out that fellow commuters had already intervened and separated the two men at 10.42 pm.

After a gap of eight minutes, at 10.50 pm, Suvarna walked towards the unarmed man's new position, pulled a razor-sharp knife he was carrying in his bag, and inflicted six injuries, including fatal stabs to the chest and abdomen, the intervention plea stated.

He then brandished the weapon to threaten other passengers so no one could help the bleeding victim before fleeing when the train arrived at Borivali station, it added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)