The Government Railway Police (GRP) registered a murder investigation following the demise of a police constable, allegedly due to poison injected by fatka robbers near Matunga station. Constable Vishal Pawar (30), assigned to the local arms division, passed away at a Thane hospital on Wednesday.
Prior to his demise, Pawar provided a statement detailing the circumstances of the poisoning and the subsequent events, leaving investigators with unresolved inquiries. However, investigators have struggled to uncover corroborating evidence. Pawar recounted to the police that on the night of April 27, he departed from his residence in Thane to report for duty at Byculla. Clad in civilian clothing, he was engaged in a phone conversation while standing on the footboard of a local train. Around 9:30 pm, between Matunga and Sion stations, an individual standing on the tracks struck his hand. As his phone slipped from his grip, the assailant seized it and made a swift getaway.
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According to a report of TOI, Pawar claimed that he jumped off the train and chased the robber. But after covering some distance, he was surrounded by three to four people who assaulted him. One of the men injected Pawar with a poisonous substance on his back. The men also poured some liquid into his mouth.
Pawar asserted that he collapsed near the tracks and regained consciousness sometime between 2 am and 3 am. Subsequently, he managed to walk approximately 200 meters to Matunga station, where he found a place to rest and eventually caught a train to return home the following morning. Upon reaching home, he began experiencing bouts of vomiting, prompting his cousin, who happened to be visiting him, to rush him to the hospital on April 29. Tragically, Pawar passed away three days later.