THANE: A 51-year-old passenger injured in last Monday’s Mumbra train mishap succumbed to his injuries on Thursday morning at a private hospital in Thane city, taking the death toll to five, officials said. The deceased, identified as Anil More, was a resident of Shahpur and worked in Kalwa. He was travelling on the footboard of a CSMT-bound local that originated from Kasara and was among those who fell off the train during the incident, which has left five dead and nine injured so far. It may be recalled that four passengers had initially died and ten were injured in a freak accident after falling off two suburban trains headed in opposite directions as they crossed each other on adjoining tracks at the Diva-end of Mumbra railway station. More, along with another passenger, had suffered serious head injuries and was admitted in critical condition to CSMH Kalwa hospital. He was later shifted to a private hospital, where he remained in the ICU for the past ten days. His condition remained critical and he passed away on Thursday morning, a hospital staffer confirmed. His body was taken to the civil hospital for post-mortem, following which it would be handed over to his family by Thursday evening, the Thane railway police said. Meanwhile, activists have questioned the apathy shown by the railway administration in increasing local train services to extended suburbs beyond Kalyan towards Kasara and Karjat. Services currently run at intervals of over an hour—far from adequate given the growing population in these areas. “We have been demanding shuttle services till Kalyan or Thane from these far-off suburbs, which would greatly help reduce crowding. We have also demanded that Diva halts for Kasara-Karjat and Khopoli trains be removed and that services originating from Kalyan, Titwala, or Ambernath be introduced instead,” said railway activist Rajesh Ghangav.
