Activists question if footboard bullies caused overcrowding leading to Mumbra mishap

Time of India

15-06-2025

Thane: Days after the Central Railway appealed to commuters to share inputs or information that could assist in the Mumbra mishap investigations, passenger activists from Thane suburbs pointed out if footboard bullies aboard the locals may have led to overcrowding in tthe Kasara-CSMT coach that day.
Prabhakar Gangavne, a railway commuter and activist from Karjat who travels to Thane daily, said the railways must check if footboard bullies could have partially blocked the doors of coaches of the train at Diva and led to overcrowding. "These bullies are frequent on suburban trains and make it difficult for passengers to board trains even at busy stations like Thane, Kalyan, and Dombivli, leaving many commuters with limited foothold and often leading to fights," he said.
Activist Ananda Patil from Diva, who previously alerted the CR administration about the alleged deadly curve ahead of Mumbra stations has now raised questions if the passenger loads were bulging out excessively from one side of the coaches that may have also led to the 'unusual clash' of bags of commuters travelling in trains moving in opposite directions. "The authorities should scan the CCTV footage at Diva to check for the presence of these bullies.
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He also claimed the halts of long destination trains from Kasara-Karjat at Diva were responsible for overcrowding and suggested that services originating from Kalyan and Ambarnath be given more halts instead.