Mumbai: The state CID will probe into the death of a 34-year-old passenger at CSMT on Sunday, while he had been detained by Railway Protection Force (RPF).Railway officials alleged that Imran Patel, a fruit vendor from Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh who had come to Mumbai to visit Haji Ali dargah, “got aggressive” and manhandled an RPF sub-inspector, after which he was restrained. He subsequently fell unconscious in a lavatory and was pronounced dead.Patel’s family last spoke to him on the phone while he was in Mumbai. They have demanded a thorough investigation into the incident.According to a Central Railway official, Patel approached the CSMT RPF main post on Sunday at 10.18am, seeking information about trains to Khandwa. “He was behaving erratically, claiming that some people were trying to kill him. Later, he got aggressive. He hit RPF sub-inspector Aniket as well as himself. He was restrained by RPF personnel to prevent injury. Government Railway Police (GRP) was informed and five GRP personnel reached the RPF post,” the official said.Around 12.30pm, Patel sought to use the lavatory and was escorted by railway police. When he did not come out for seven to eight minutes, railway police forced the door open and found him lying unconscious. At 12.54pm, Patel was moved to St George’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.After CCTV footage was scrutinised, images of Patel moving around CSMT station early that morning were found. He had made visits to the GRP chowky as well as the help desk. “No identity card or phone was found on him. There were two general compartment tickets — Khandwa to Bhusaval dated Sept 18, and Nashik to Dadar journey dated Sept 19,” the CR official said.Patel’s family said they got a phone call from Khandwa GRP and were connected to the CSMT GRP through them. “On learning that my brother had passed away, we rushed to Mumbai. For most of the day on Monday, a post-mortem examination was carried out at J J Hospital and videographed. When we were finally shown his body, there were marks on his nose and face. We left the city on Monday night with his body to carry out the last rites at Khandwa,” said Patel’s brother, Irfaan.“We do not know what happened at CSMT after my brother approached the RPF. We suspect he was assaulted. If he was complaining about some people trying to kill him, why wasn’t he made to feel safe by the security agencies? We want justice. If a thorough inquiry is not carried out, we will file a petition in a court in MP,” added Irfaan.GRP have recorded an accidental death case. Prashant Waghunde, superintendent of police, state CID, confirmed on Tuesday that they were to initiate an investigation.Patel is survived by his wife and three children.
