A nine-month-old boy died after accidentally falling from the emergency window of the moving Seemanchal Express while travelling with his parents from Delhi to Bihar. The infant reportedly slipped from his mother’s lap while she was feeding him and fell from the train near Faizullahpur station in Uttar Pradesh.
The tragedy was followed by further distress for the parents, who allegedly said passengers stopped the father from pulling the emergency chain, citing the forested area along the railway track. The child’s body was recovered from bushes nearly 23 hours later.
Baby falls from train while mother was feeding him
Mohan Kumar, a lawyer’s clerk living in Delhi’s Sitapuri area, was travelling with his wife Kajal and their nine-month-old son to Salauna village in Bihar’s Begusarai district. The family was travelling from Anand Vihar in the S-1 coach of the Seemanchal Express and occupied berths 61 and 64.
According to the police investigation, Mohan had gone to the restroom while Kajal was feeding the baby. She reportedly fell asleep while holding him. The child slipped from her lap and fell through the emergency window as the train was passing near Faizullahpur station.
When Mohan returned, he found that his son was missing. The couple searched the coach but could not locate him.
Father tried to pull chain
After realising that the baby may have fallen from the moving train, Mohan reportedly tried to pull the emergency chain between Khaga and Sirathu. However, he alleged that passengers and escorts prevented him from doing so, saying the area was surrounded by forest and finding assistance would be difficult.
The couple continued to Prayagraj, where they informed the GRP about the incident.
Following the alert, a joint team comprising Fatehpur GRP SO Vinod Kumar and RPF Company Commander Rajinder Kumar began searching the railway tracks. The operation continued through the night, with civil police later joining the search.
Body found in bushes
The infant’s body was finally found at around 3:30 pm on Saturday in bushes near the railway track at Faizullahpur station. Police officials said the search was difficult because of dense vegetation and waterlogging in the area.
GRP SP Prashant Kumar said the investigation indicated that the child had been with his mother before slipping backwards and falling through the emergency window. Officials said the infant had suffered a head injury.
Delay in post-mortem angers DM
The family’s ordeal continued even after the recovery. The parents reportedly had to spend the night at the station after the post-mortem was delayed. Authorities cited paperwork and staff-related issues.
GRP SO Vinod Kumar said the panchnama had been completed and documents sent to the post-mortem facility. DM Nidhi Gupta Vats later took cognisance of the delay and expressed displeasure, saying action would follow after responsibility was established.
"We were going home after three years," Mohan said, recalling the family’s journey to Bihar.
Kajal said she did not realise when she fell asleep while feeding her son: "I did not even realise when I fell asleep while feeding the child."
The couple will reportedly take their son’s body to Delhi after the post-mortem instead of continuing to Bihar.
