Lady cop suffers broken jaw after rod smashes her face in running train
A woman constable from Bhandup Police Station suffered a broken jaw, and lost four teeth, after an iron rod, possibly flung by the railway track robbers, struck her inside the second class ladies compartment of a CST-bound train around 8 pm Wednesday.
Constable Harsha Jadhav, 22, a resident of Mankhurd, was on her way to Bhandup to report on the night shift. She was struck in the mouth when the train was approaching Govandi station, and a preliminary investigation by the Government Railway Police (GRP) has revealed that the rod was flung by robbers, none of whom have been identified.
Jadhav, who has gone to Pune to be with her husband after the incident, said that she was standing near the train door, and was “extremely lucky” to have not fallen on the tracks.
There was no ambulance at Govandi station, forcing Jadhav to travel by train to Kurla, from where she took another train to Ghatkopar. An autorickshaw outside the Ghatkopar station took her to the hospital. The Rajawadi Hospital medical superintendent, Dr Vidya Thakur, said Jadhav had lost a lot of blood.
“The area around her upper lip had suffered significant damage. We stitched the wounds and discharged the patient because she wanted further treatment in Pune, where her family stays,” Thakur said.
Jadhav, who joined the police department three years ago, said her family is rattled by the incident. “My face is still slightly swollen. I would have fallen on the tracks had I not grabbed the pole near the door. I’m thankful to fellow commuters who tied a dupatta around my face to stop the bleeding, but the fact that there was no ambulance outside Govandi station proves commuters’ safety is still being neglected,” she said.
The cop’s father, Dada Jadhav, said the thought of his daughter falling on the tracks still haunts him. “She told us that she held on to the compartment rod. We have read in papers how people have fallen on the tracks after such attacks. Thank God our daughter didn’t suffer such fate,” he said. A Vashi GRP officer said that investigations were on. “Prima facie, it appears the railway track robbers had flung the rod,” the officer said.
Constable Harsha Jadhav, 22, a resident of Mankhurd, was on her way to Bhandup to report on the night shift. She was struck in the mouth when the train was approaching Govandi station, and a preliminary investigation by the Government Railway Police (GRP) has revealed that the rod was flung by robbers, none of whom have been identified.
Jadhav, who has gone to Pune to be with her husband after the incident, said that she was standing near the train door, and was “extremely lucky” to have not fallen on the tracks.
“I collapsed in the compartment as blood was oozing out of my mouth. The force with which the rod struck me knocked my teeth out, and the train floor was covered in blood. A woman constable from the GRP accompanied me to the Rajawadi Hospital,” she said.
There was no ambulance at Govandi station, forcing Jadhav to travel by train to Kurla, from where she took another train to Ghatkopar. An autorickshaw outside the Ghatkopar station took her to the hospital. The Rajawadi Hospital medical superintendent, Dr Vidya Thakur, said Jadhav had lost a lot of blood.
“The area around her upper lip had suffered significant damage. We stitched the wounds and discharged the patient because she wanted further treatment in Pune, where her family stays,” Thakur said.
Jadhav, who joined the police department three years ago, said her family is rattled by the incident. “My face is still slightly swollen. I would have fallen on the tracks had I not grabbed the pole near the door. I’m thankful to fellow commuters who tied a dupatta around my face to stop the bleeding, but the fact that there was no ambulance outside Govandi station proves commuters’ safety is still being neglected,” she said.
The cop’s father, Dada Jadhav, said the thought of his daughter falling on the tracks still haunts him. “She told us that she held on to the compartment rod. We have read in papers how people have fallen on the tracks after such attacks. Thank God our daughter didn’t suffer such fate,” he said. A Vashi GRP officer said that investigations were on. “Prima facie, it appears the railway track robbers had flung the rod,” the officer said.
