Sumant De wasn’t meant to be on the train that Tuesday.

On July 11, instead of going to the Andheri office of jewellery manufacturer Nakshatra, Sumant headed to South Mumbai’s traditional diamond market, Zhaveri Bazaar to hand over some of his designs. “He left my shop at 5.30 pm, refusing a cup of tea as he had to go to Bhayander to meet another customer,’’ recalls goldsmith Minto Ghosh.

He took the train. A blast in the first-class compartment at Mahim station at 6.26 pm killed him.

At his Nallasopara residence, which doubles up as a jewellery design workshop, family members and colleagues give more poignant details. Sumant’s first-class pass was just 11 days old, bought to escape the rush-hour crush of the second-class compartment.

And this summer, when his parents visited Mumbai, Sumant had won an approval for his long-standing relationship with his girlfriend in Kolkata, Oindrila. She was the last person Sumant spoke to, minutes before starting what would be a fatal train ride.

A Kolkata boy, Sumant came to stay with younger sister Chaitali and brother-in-law Manoj in Nallasopara on Mumbai’s northern edge three years ago.

At the Nakshatra office, colleague Gautam Mukherjee remembers him as a dear friend. “Sumant liked living life king-size. Whether it was a cellphone or dining, he liked the good things in life.’’

Manoj who has taken the place of Sumant in the office says, “He planned to give his career three years in Mumbai, and then move back to Kolkata for good, where his parents stay.’’

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