BAHAWALPUR: Heirs of a 29-year-old woman passenger have accused a railway police official of pushing her to death from the moving train, Faisalabad-bound Millat Express, on April 7.
The death of the woman, identified as Maryam Bibi of Jaranwala, gained public attention after a viral video showed railway constable Mir Hassan abusing her and her children aboard the Millat Express. She was later found dead along the railway line.
A spokesperson for Pakistan Railway (PR) in a press release said the PR chairman has made a four-member committee, headed by the railway police south zone DIG, to probe into the death of Maryam and submit report in three days.
The press release says that Maryam, who was traveling from Karachi to Faisalabad, started scattering the belongings of other passengers. This prompted the passengers to call the police constable who assaulted the woman and moved her to another compartment. However, the constable’s duty only extended from Karachi to Hyderabad. The press release says, according to fellow passengers, the woman suddenly jumped from the moving train near Channigoth station. Once the video of the constable thrashing the woman was posted online, the constable was arrested. He has been suspended from duty and is on bail in the Hyderabad area.
Bahawalpur District Police Officer Asad Sarfraz says that the district police are also looking into the case. The DPO said in a press release that initially heirs were not ready for her postmortem examination, but later they allowed and the postmortem examination was carried out at Ahmedpur East THQ hospital. The DPO said after receipt of the postmortem examination report, further action would be taken in a transparent manner into the woman’s death.
A PR official source, however, expressed doubts over the ‘story of Maryam’s suicide by jumping out of the train’s window. The heirs of the deceased Maryam have also accused the constable of pushing her from the moving train. Maryam’s sister, who was also traveling in the same train in another coach, told a news channel that she (Maryam) remained in contact with her during the journey till reaching at a station near Bahawalpur.
