Mumbai Train Stabbing: How Police Foiled the Suspect’s Last-Minute Mangaluru Escape Plan

The Mumbai's Government Railway Police (GRP) arrested a 30-year-old man in connection with the stabbing inside in a local train. He was nabbed with the help of CCTV footage, a distinctive company logo on his shirt, and a tip-off from the suspect's own father.

Who is the Accused?
The accused has been identified as 30-year-old Roshan Suvarna, who is an HSC dropout, according to a report in Hindustan Times. He lived with his parents and brother in a rented flat at Meghdoot Tower in Saibaba Nagar, Mira Road.

For the past five years, he had been working alongside his father and brother at a cargo handling and barcode manufacturing firm near Mumbai airport in Andheri East, Indian Express reported. During the investigation, it has been discovered that Suvarna had no criminal past. His family has informed the authorities about his short-tempered nature and heavy alcohol consuming habit. It has to be noted that he was under influence when he stabbed the victim on the moving train.

The Shocking Incident
The incident occurred on Tuesday night aboard a Churchgate-Nalasopara fast local train. Going by the report, after finishing work, Suvarna consumed an entire bottle of rum. Due to torrential rain, he initially tried to book a cab from Andheri East to return home, but he changed the plan due to the bad weather and boarded the first-class compartment of the local train.

The victim was asked to shut the door as the train travelled between Andheri and Borivali stations due to heavy rains. When a 22-year-old Mayank Lohar tried to close the train doors, an intoxicated Suvarna got irritated. The argument escalated quickly, and eyewitnesses claimed that a few passengers intervened, punching Suvarna near the eye before moving Lohar to the opposite end of the coach to diffuse the situation.

Incensed by the altercation, an agitated Suvarna pulled a knife from his bag, tore off its paper wrapping, and aggressively stabbed Lohar in the stomach. Terrified by the sudden burst of violence and the sight of the weapon, onlookers were unable to intervene. The attack happened within seconds.

The Escape Plan
Immediately after the train pulled into Borivali station, Suvarna blended into the crowd on platform number 6 and escaped. He took an autorickshaw to his residence in Mira Road, arriving after midnight. Because late nights were routine for him, his family initially suspected nothing.

However, Suvarna immediately set an escape plan into motion. He took a bath, changed his clothes, packed the blood-stained outfit into a backpack, and told his family he was heading to his maternal uncle's house in Panvel, from where he intended to travel to Mangaluru. He then booked a bus ticket to Mangaluru scheduled for Wednesday afternoon and left the house in a cab.

The Mumbai Police launched a massive manhunt, scouring footage from nearly 400 CCTV cameras along the Churchgate-Nalasopara route.

The investigation cracked wide open when officers spotted Suvarna on a CCTV camera and noticed a distinct cargo company logo emblazoned on his shirt. Concurrently, GRP officers tracked his movements out of Borivali station, using traffic signal cameras to follow the trajectory of the autorickshaw he boarded, which led them straight to his residential area in Mira Road.

When police arrived at the house and showed the CCTV footage to Suvarna's 65-year-old father, Babu Suvarna, the father identified his son. Babu also informed the police about his son's short temper, his drinking habits, and crucially, his plan to flee to Mangaluru via Panvel.

Armed with Suvarna's mobile number provided by his father, the police used technical surveillance and location tracking to pin him down. At around 2:00 pm on Wednesday-just an hour before his bus was set to depart-a police team intercepted Suvarna waiting at Panvel railway station.

Upon being detained, Suvarna reportedly asked officers if Lohar was still alive. He was initially told the victim was undergoing medical treatment, but was formally placed under arrest by the Borivali GRP after being informed that Lohar had succumbed to his injuries.

The police have recovered the murder weapon, which Suvarna had reportedly purchased from a friend just a few days prior to the incident. That friend is currently being questioned by authorities to establish why the knife was handed over. Meanwhile, the GRP plans to conduct a test identification parade with the passengers who witnessed the horrifying ordeal inside the first-class compartment.