Mumbai: When
Dravita Singh
, injured and disoriented after a pole robber's blow, tried to get up and walk for help on the CR main tracks near CSMT, she saw a train coming towards her. She waved at the motorman, who spotted her and applied the brakes, but some of her fingers and toes got crushed. "Dravita later told us that she realised she was going to be run over. With great strength, she pushed herself away from the tracks," said her father
Hemant Singh.
The motorman of the down train picked up
Dravita
and took her to
Byculla
station, from where cops rushed her to J J Hospital. "We were at home when we got a call from the cops. Dravita had given my cell number to the GRP and told them to call me. We took two-and-half hours to reach JJ Hospital by cab. We decided to shift her to
Bhatia Hospital
, where she underwent a surgery," he said. Dravita was able to narrate the incident, but could only say the robber was tall.
The CSMT GRP has registered a case of attempt to murder and voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery. "Our team worked overnight to look for the robber," said senior inspector Sanjay Shinde. Tip-offs by informants and scrutiny of CCTV footage from the road adjacent to the tracks helped the cops trace the juvenile to Sandhurst Road early on Thursday.
He led them to Rukhsar Barguya, a 25-year-old housewife living in the slums of
Masjid
, who had purchased Dravita's cellphone. The teen, a resident of Reay Road, was sent to the
Dongri
observation home.
The attack area does not figure on the GRP list of robbery hotspots. "This case is a wake-up call for law and order agencies. Urgent steps have to be taken to prevent a recurrence and ensure the safety of women commuters," said Hemant.
Doctors at Bhatia Hospital said Dravita suffered major crush injuries. "She has lost a part of the right foot, including the big toe. She also partially lost the middle and ring fingers of the left hand. We had to amputate the little finger as the damage was irreparable," said Dr Shailesh Ranade, plastic and reconstructive surgeon.
A team led by Ranade performed a three-hour surgery late on Wednesday. "We tried to salvage her foot but the injury was too grave. Parts of the foot and the toe were badly crushed. She had lost a lot of skin, fat and muscle. We debrided the dead tissues, which will help arrest infection and hasten recovery. We are trying our best to salvage the remaining foot," he said. Dravita is likely to undergo another procedure on Saturday.