Jaybala Ashar, a student of TYBCom at M D Shah Women's College in Malad, had boarded the ladies compartment of the 5.45 am Borivli slow local from Charni Road when the incident occurred. As the train left Charni Road Station, a jeans-clad youth barged into the compartment and demanded that Jaymala hand her bag containing her books, railway pass and purse and her valuables over to him. Jaybala refused to do so and a scuffle ensued.

As the train moved they fought over the bag, reaching the footboard, even as, the police claims, three other women who were in the compartment remained mute witnesses to the entire drama. Sensing that Grant Road station was nearing, the youth then pushed the 23-year-old girl over the footboard.

Jaybala fell on the tracks and the train ranover her lower limbs. She also suffered injuries on her chest and head. She lay there on the tracks for over half-an-hour until the police got wind of the incident. Jaybala was admitted to the B Y L Nair hospital by 7.25 am. Sources at the Nair hospital, where she has been admitted, said that both her legs have been amputated.

Speaking to Express Newsline while his sister was undergoing an operation, Rajesh Ashar said that Jaybala had only recently started boarding the train for college alone. ``Till a few months back, I used to drop her at the station. Since I would not let her board an empty compartment she had lost a few classes,'' he said. Finally the family gave in to Jaybala's pleas to let her go unescorted.

According to the First Information Report filed by the Mumbai Central railway police, the man was short, thin, dark-skinned, with short hair and a round face and wore a white T-shirt.

Police are baffled over the absolute lack of concern shown by the other three occupants of thecompartment.

``If they had created a ruckus, the incident would not have happened in the first place,'' said Senior Inspector V G Rane of the Mumbai Central railway police station. He said that a search has been called to trace the youth as well as the three women. According to Superintendent of Police (GRP) S Ramachandran the three women were clad in jeans and were believed to be college-goers. ``They did not even inform the police at the next station,'' he said.

According to police officials the crime was probably the handiwork of a drug addict or a small-time robber. ``Only addicts are so desperate as to fight over Rs 80,'' said Rane.

Meanwhile, police have picked up a suspect from Bandra whose clothes corresponded with the description given by the victim. He has been taken to Nair hospital for identification.

Not long ago, Minister of State for Home Gajanan Kirtikar had made a statement at a meeting that police personnel would be posted at every platform in front of ladies compartments in a bid toprevent chain-snatching and other thefts. But Ramachandran opined that the decision could not be implemented due to an acute shortage of manpower in both GRP and the Railway Protection Force.