Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh): A 19-year-old woman gave birth to a baby girl inside a train’s coach with help from a woman railway constable who arranged privacy behind makeshift curtains at Ratlam station.
A woman named Kiran, a 19-year-old pregnant woman from Ghazipur district in Uttar Pradesh, was travelling with her husband, Deepuram, in the general coach of the Bandra Terminus-Ghazipur Superfast Express.
They were heading home to Ghazipur from Vapi in Gujarat when labour pains started.
The train reached platform number five at Ratlam station at 8:29 am on Saturday. Passengers near the engine compartment raised an alarm seeing her condition. RPF head constable Shivani immediately rushed to the coach.
Showing quick thinking, Shivani first separated male passengers from the area. She then worked with female passengers to create a privacy curtain using sheets and other materials inside the coach.
Behind this makeshift barrier, she safely assisted the delivery while RPF SI Shraddha Thakur and ticket checker Geeta managed the platform situation outside.
When the baby's cries filled the coach, relieved passengers congratulated each other and offered prayers. Railway hospital doctors examined both mother and child inside the coach.
With family consent, Shivani arranged ambulance transport to the district hospital, where both were admitted in healthy condition.
The train, scheduled for a 10-minute stop, remained halted for 31 minutes from 8:29 to 9:02 am. Passengers prayed throughout for the mother's and baby's well-being.
RPF station in-charge PR Meena said their staff receives special training under the Mission Matrushakti programme for handling such emergencies, ensuring both lives were saved safely.
